In the Name of Being Honest
by ohsnapxitsemyy
Summary: I was quiet and shy. He was loud and friendly. I was looking for a steady, secure future. He was looking for a hookup and a good time. In the end, I was what he was looking for and he was what I was looking for. This is my story- the best and worst memories of my life. My unexpected life with Sirius Black. SB/OC, canon.
1. Chapter 1

**Here is the first chapter of In the Name of Being Honest. I love writing this story so far and I can't wait to see what kind of feedback I get on this, so make sure to leave a review on your way out! For all my readers that have been reading DM/OC stories from me for so long, I am begging you to check this one out! I promise it will be worth your while (even though it isn't DM/OC).**

**This series will be LONG, considering that it will start at the beginning of the Marauder's seventh year and will end a couple years after the wedding of James and Lily. Oh, sorry if I ruined it…this fic will also be canon. **

**Don't forget to review, hit the alert button, whatever you want to do.  
Thanks so much, I love my awesome readers!**

**Read and enjoy!**

Sirius Black had never thought he would be trapped in that house…again. He left for a reason those twenty long years ago, vowing to himself and to his family that he would never return. The portrait of his mother hanging at the bottom of the creaky, wooden staircase reminded him of that every single day.

He promised Dumbledore, however, that he would not put himself in danger. He would keep his nose clean, stay in the house, and await further instruction. Even if that meant lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. All day, every day.

A muffled bang issued from a few floors below, followed by a slightly muted scream from the portrait of his mother. He sighed as the horrid woman hurled insults and profanities at the poor souls that happened to wake her.

"Sirius! Sirius, I thought you said you were going to help us!"

A loud knock rattled the wooden door, shaking it in the frame. He knew exactly who it was. Molly Weasley. Though she had a good heart, she would not allow Sirius to sit in his room and sulk for more than a few minutes a day. There were things to do, she explained. They needed to make this house hospitable again. Evidently Kreacher went into a deep, dark depression after the death of his mother, leaving the house full of dark, magical objects to run itself.

They frequently ran into something dangerous. Just a few days ago, Ron Weasley was nearly filleted by a sword enchanted to behead the person that touched it. That was an interesting and rather drawn out dilemma.

Another loud knock rattled the door. Molly was being persistent, not that she wasn't any other time.

"I know you're in there, Sirius Black," she said, her voice stifled through the thick door. "You haven't come out of there in half an hour and I need you to assess a room for me. I don't want to send Ginny, Hermione, and Ron in without any idea of what could be in there."

Sirius sighed again, turning toward a picture that sat on his bedside table. The woman was smiling at him, her blonde curly hair disheveled around her beautiful face. Some of it fell haphazardly into her eyes as she tilted her head back and laughed. Picture-him had his arms wrapped around the woman's waist, his eyes danced with excitement and…love.

"I bet you don't have to worry about this kind of stuff," he mumbled more to himself than anything. It was at this point that he silently wished he was back in the confines of his cave above the small village of Hogsmeade. Even better, his top-security cell in Azkaban.

He shook his head, furrowing his brow. He was out of that prison. He was to be reunited with his godson sooner than Harry thought. He shouldn't be thinking about these things…but he couldn't help it. He gazed down at the picture again before rolling off the bed. His feet planted on the wooden planks as he padded over, throwing open the thick door.

Molly Weasley stood before him, her hands set firmly on her hips. Her deep, brown eyes were narrowed into a glare. He leaned against the doorframe, staring down at the woman with an unimpressed expression on his face.

"Were you planning on coming out anytime soon?"

Sirius shrugged, ignoring the urge to roll his eyes. That may be pushing the limit a little bit.

Molly sighed, lowering her hands from her hips so they settled next to thighs. "Sirius, I know this is hard for you, but she wouldn't want-"

"Don't talk about her," Sirius said sharply, his eyes flashing threateningly. "You have no right to talk about her."

The red-headed woman hastily moved to the side as Sirius shoved past her, storming down the hallway toward the room a few floors below. As he stomped off the staircase and onto the landing where the three Hogwarts students were congregated, their laughter died down quickly at the look on his face.

Hermione's bushy brown hair flew into her face as she nearly threw herself into Ginny Weasley's arms in a quick attempt to get out of Sirius's way. Ginny and Ron glanced at each other and shrugged, not quite sure what set off the ex-prisoner.

"Damn her, bringing her up like that," Sirius mumbled as he shoveled through the belongings, kicking aside a bowtruckle that rose up from one of the boxes. It slammed with a sickening crunch into the opposite wall, falling to the floor unmoving. Hermione widened her eyes, skirting into the room cautiously. She glared back at Ron, who gently pushed her forward, not wanting to be the one to receive the brunt of Sirius's anger.

"I…erm…Sirius?" Hermione said hesitantly, stepping over a small box that was covered with a thin, black sheet. "Is- erm- is everything okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be okay?" he murmured acidly, pushing boxes aside at top speed. They slid across the slick, wooden floor, slamming into each other. "Let's just get this room cleaned, shall we? Forget the small talk."

Hermione turned, silently gesturing for Ron and Ginny to come into the room. Ginny shoved past her brother, who was still loitering near the thick door. He teetered on the balls of his feet for a moment before lurching forward into the dimly lit room. The two girls dug into boxes that sat against the wall, paint chips scattered across the tops of the cardboard.

The small redhead blew off the chips, coughing loudly as she accidently inhaled a large amount of dust. The other girl moved past her, cautiously digging through the box, using her fingers as small pinchers so she could withdraw her hand quickly if something dangerous popped up. She learned this a few days earlier when she was bitten by a rather confused doxie.

"What is this?" she whispered to Ginny as her hand felt a large book covered in black velvet. She brushed off the thick dust that sat on the cover, wrinkling her eyebrows together as she turned to show it to Ginny.

Ginny took the book from her, using the palm of her hand to brush off any excess dust. She quickly whipped her hand on the leg of her sweatpants, leaving a line of dirt that shown bright against the dark fabric. As the dust cleared, she noticed a few words were carved into the plastic.

_Haley Brams and Sirius Black  
Eternal Love_

The two girls glanced over their shoulders before Ginny opened the book. It was filled front-to-back with pictures of an obviously younger Sirius, James and Lily Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and a few girls that neither Ginny nor Hermione recognized. As they delved through the book, they noticed that Sirius became increasingly closer to one girl in particular…a pretty, slim girl with blonde, curly hair and bright brown eyes.

They were kissing, hugging, smiling, and laughing at the camera. Hermione realized that she had never seen Sirius this happy. He had bouts of laughter now, where the smile covered his face, but didn't quite reach his eyes. She could tell the haunting, emaciated look of Azkaban still hid in his mind. But here, in these pictures, this was the Sirius Black that everyone had told her about. The Sirius Black that was alive, that was a jokester that rivaled the Weasley twins.

They flipped toward the end of the book, where a few pictures were obviously from a hospital room. The girl appeared exhausted as she sat on the bed, smiling widely at the camera as she rocked a small baby in her arms. The baby's head was covered with a tiny, pink cap. The woman was pointing to the camera, trying to get the newborn to look in that direction. A second later, Sirius jumped into the picture, placing a passionate kiss on the woman's lips before gently kissing the top of the baby's head.

Just underneath the picture was a small snippet scrawled quickly in black ink.

_Sirius Black and Haley Brams with Nora Ann Black, born October 13th, 1980_

Joy and elation were prominent on his face, happiness jumped from his eyes. Hermione couldn't help but smile at the picture of her best friend's mentor. Then she realized…Sirius never mentioned having a child. He never mentioned being in love. Actually, the more she thought about it, he never mentioned much at all.

"You ask," Ginny said as she shoved the book into Hermione's hands. Hermione nearly dropped the book, but managed to fumble it in her hands before it hit the floor.

"I don't want to ask!" she hissed back, trying to shove the photo album back into the redhead's hands. "You saw exactly how thrilled he was with-"

"What do you have, Hermione?"

The voice behind them made both girls jump. The album fell from Hermione's hands, landing with a thud on the wooden floor. Dust flew up around them, nearly sending Ginny into another coughing fit. She got control of it, however, just as Sirius bent down to pick up the photo album. Hermione shifted uncomfortably on her feet, her skin prickling at the thought that Sirius had caught them snooping through his things.

"Where did you find this?" he asked in awe as he collapsed on the nearest box, the old wood groaning underneath his thin frame. He flipped quickly through the album, his jaw open in disbelief. "I thought I had lost it years ago."

Hermione gestured toward the nearly empty box that her and Ginny had been rifling through. "It was- erm- it was in there." She paused to take a deep breath, assessing the situation before her. Ginny stared at her, widening her eyes as a hint for Hermione to speak up. Hermione shrugged slightly as Sirius stopped at the picture they had been looking at a moment before.

The picture of the woman and Sirius with the newborn baby in her arms. It was then that Hermione knew she could no longer hold back the questions.

"Sirius, I-" She began, but stopped to take another deep breath. "Who is that woman? And the baby?"

Sirius froze, momentarily thrown by the question. How was he supposed to answer? He certainly didn't want these three to know his past, especially considering that they were Harry Potter's closest friends. He sighed, slamming the book shut. "It doesn't matter," he murmured, shoving the book under his arm. "Just an album of old photos, that's all."

Ginny stepped forward, the outgoing girl not allowing Sirius to shrug away an explanation. "That is not just an old album filled with old photos. Who was that woman?" she demanded, a hardened look in her eyes, "Who was that baby? Sirius, we want to know."

The man sighed looking through his mangled black hair to stare up at the young girl. "You are too much like your mother with that persistency. Not a good trait to have." He stood up from his perch on the box, pacing the room for a few minutes. No one spoke, but by this time Ron had made his way through the throngs of moldy cardboard boxes to see what was going on.

"I had to threaten the entire Order with a memory charm so they wouldn't tell the younger people about this," he started, running his hands through his black hair. It fell back it place around his grey eyes. "So far it had worked just fine." He collapsed onto a stool, sending dust flying into the air around him. He covered his eyes for a moment, pressing his palms into the sockets as a way to clear the headache that had surfaced. "If I tell you this, if I tell you about that woman, you cannot tell Harry-"

"But, why?" Hermione interrupted, "We've already kept so much from him-"

"Because the woman in that picture was his godmother," he sneered, not so much at Hermione, but at the world in general, "Because that child, my child, was the closest thing to a childhood best friend that he was ever going to have."

He opened the book back up and continued to flip past the photo of the woman and the newborn, where Hermione and Ginny hadn't quite gotten yet. Photos of an infant Harry and the newborn baby were on the next page. Photos of the two playing together, crawling together, walking together. Photos of Lily and the woman with their babies, photos of James Potter lying on the floor with the two. It was all there.

"What happened?" Ginny nudged, taking a seat on a box next to Sirius. "Tell us, please. We promise we won't tell Harry. Not a word." She made a motion that she was locking her lips with a key before she threw it over her shoulder.

Sirius took a deep breath, running a rugged hand over the smooth pages. "I met her while I was at Hogwarts, really I owe it to this piece of parchment right here." He stopped to smooth out a wrinkled piece of parchment that was slightly burned in the corner and obviously old. On it was written a thirty statement list, with a signature and check mark after each number. "We graduated together, both of us Gryffindors. I had no idea she even existed until our seventh year together and, she never told me this, but I had a feeling that she thought I was a toe-rag." He snorted, laughing at himself as if telling an inside joke. "And I really was. I was arrogant, a prankster, I couldn't keep a girlfriend to save my life. Not that I wanted to at the time- I liked to keep my options open. I thought I was going to be a bachelor forever." He paused again, sighing longingly. "She was beautiful and perfect. She brought me back down to Earth. She was the love of my life."

Hermione and Ginny sighed adoringly, both of them in the mood to hear a love story.

"If I tell you this, I don't want to hear it mentioned again. I don't want Harry to know, ever." He stopped, glaring at each of them. "Do you understand?"

The three nodded vigorously. Hermione and Ron both took seats next to Sirius and Ginny respectively.

"Good," he continued, taking yet another deep breath, this time running his hand over the stubble on his jaw line. "The year was 1977 and I thought I had the world in the palm of my hand…"


	2. Chapter 2

**This is where the story switches from Sirius's point of view over to Haley's…so strap in and get ready to rock! I can't wait to see what you guys have to say about it, so make sure to leave a review on your way out!**

**Thanks to my reviewers and alert hitters for the first chapter! I really do appreciate you taking the time out to let me know how you like it. Keep it up!**

_**19 YEARS EARLIER  
September 1977**_

I was content with my life up until that point. I was content with being the invisible Gryffindor, the girl that was smarter than her Ravenclaw twin brother, the girl that didn't have many friends, the girl who would rather spend the day reading in the library than watching a quidditch match.

I was okay with constantly getting sat on, tripped over, ignored. I was used to people sliding by and not talking to me, not noticing me, not caring about me.

That is, until I woke up one morning and realized…I'm in my seventh year at Hogwarts. I haven't ever attended a quidditch match or gone to a Gryffindor party or been asked to Hogsmeade or snuck out after hours to get a snack from the kitchens or been thrown in detention for not doing my homework. Hell, I hadn't even had my first kiss yet. Unless you count that one time when I was four, which I certainly don't.

I should be proud of these things, really. I should be proud that I have this awesome resume. All my professors adored me. I didn't have any enemies…that I knew of, at least. There were quite a few departments in the Ministry of Magic that were crawling over each other to hire me once I graduated.

So why did I feel like something in my life was missing?

I curled my feet under my legs, contemplating the outside world zooming by as the train trundled down the tracks. I paralleled it with my life, perhaps thinking a bit too deeply about it, as it passed through an open field filled with cows and horses. My life was really like this train- speeding toward its ultimate goal as fast as possible without even bothering to look at what's going on around it.

The thought made me feel old. Depressed even.

I sighed as the compartment door slid open, my good friends Mary MacDonald and Alice Hemingway edged their way in. The train shuddered for a moment and Alice let out a trill of laughter as she clutched onto the side of the door to keep herself from falling over. Mary, however, let herself drop onto the bench across from me, a grin spreading wide on her face.

Alice dropped next to her, the laugh ebbing away as she caught sight of my expression. If I could hazard a guess, I would probably say it was in between glum and morose.

"Oh, Haley! What's wrong?" Alice asked as she leaned forward to clutch my hand. I glanced up at her, taking in her heart shaped face. She had slightly chunky cheeks and dimples, large blue eyes that glowed with emotion (most often when her boyfriend, Frank Longbottom, was around), and dark hair that flowed past her shoulders. She was beautiful, in anyone's opinion. Incredibly beautiful. "Why do you look so upset?"

Mary noticed my expression only a few moments later, after having overheard Alice's comment. It's not that Mary didn't care, as I knew from the bottom of my heart that she most certainly did, but she just didn't seem to catch onto things as fast as Alice did. Mary's eyes were blue like Alice's, but her face was much longer and slimmer. Her dark hair was cut sharp to graze her shoulders when left down, but she mostly pulled it into a tight ponytail where it tickled the back of her neck.

I shrugged my shoulders, ignoring Mary's questioning look as I turned my gaze out the window once more. "I don't know. It's just…it's our seventh year already and-"

"I know," Mary cut in, shaking her head, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Can you believe it? It's gone by so fast already-"

"No, you don't understand," I interrupted, "It's our seventh year already. I haven't done anything!"

Alice opened and closed her mouth for a moment, contemplating me with a furrowed brow. She raked her eyes over my long, curly blonde hair. She held her blue eyes in a lock with my bright brown ones. "What are you talking about?" she finally said, shaking her head. "You had straight O's for your OWLS, the only person in the entire class to do that. You've earned a ton of academic awards outside of school. You've-"

I shook my head vigorously, my blonde hair threatening to loosen itself from the messy bun at the back of my head. "I've done those things, yes. But I haven't DONE anything. I haven't gone to a quidditch match. I've never had a detention. I don't think I've ever talked to a boy for longer than five minutes."

Mary scrunched her own brow together, obviously taken aback. "I didn't know you were interested in doing those things."

I groaned in frustration, letting my head fall against the compartment wall. "I wasn't…I'm not…I'm- I don't know. It's just…Alice, you have a boyfriend, and Mary, you are this awesome quidditch player. And you're both so smart and popular and you've gone to parties and-"

"Okay," Alice cut me off, her expression turning from confused to exasperated. "Where is this coming from? You didn't care about those things before. Hell, you didn't even care about those things two weeks ago. What's really going on?"

I closed my mouth, not sure how to respond. I knew the answer of course. It was simple.

My twin brother, Daniel, had snuck out one night to meet up with a muggle girl that lived down the street. Now, I knew that my brother was a ladies' man- handsome, funny, charming, but I never knew him to blatantly defy the rules that our mother and father set out for us.

I caught him shimmying back up the rose trellises late one night as I was going to get a sip of water from the bathroom. He carefully avoided touching any rose petal, stem, thorn, or otherwise as we both knew that our mother would know immediately.

She was one of those women that enjoyed spending their time gardening, reading, and baking apple pies. Unfortunately, she spent so much time in her garden that she knew exactly when something was off. A bent flower from Daniel climbing up the trellises, for example.

He hoisted himself into the second floor window, nearly scaring me half to death.

"You know you aren't supposed to be sneaking out," I hissed as I followed him back to his room, an angry glare on my face. "You know mum and dad would-"

"Haley, we are only young once," my brother snapped back at me, wiping red lipstick from his cheek as he did so, "It's not my fault that you decide to be little miss goody two shoes, but you can back off now. You have no business butting into my life, especially since you don't have one of your own." Stung, I glared up at him with watery eyes. He just shrugged me off. "Have a little fun once in awhile, will you?"

He proceeded to shut his bedroom door in my face, leaving me standing in the hallway feeling slightly stupid and oddly alienated. Was I really missing that much by sneaking out for one late night snog? It didn't seem like it to me…but just maybe…

"And ever since then, I've been having these feelings that, I don't know, that I don't want to be this girl that didn't venture past her dormitory late at night," I finally finished, playing with a piece of string that hung off the bottom of my shirt. "I want to actually do something this year. Something meaningful."

Mary and Alice were silent for a moment, eyeing each other silently. I sighed- I knew they wouldn't understand. They depended on me to be the mature one, the one that never got into any trouble, the one who was always rational.

Mary was the first to speak. "That is, wow, that is…" She paused, unsure of what to say next. Alice cleared her throat, leaning forward to talk to me.

"What I think Mary is trying to say is that you never bothered with your brother in the first place. Why does it matter so much to you now?"

I shrugged my shoulders, continuing to play with the long string until it finally broke. "I don't know. I couldn't even begin to tell you. All I know, is that it just does. I tried to ignore the feelings for the rest of the summer, but as the days went by it only made me feel worse and worse."

Alice leaned back, contemplating me one more time as Mary turned to her school bag and dug out a roll of parchment paired with her favorite quill and pot of ink. I cocked an eyebrow, adjusting my feet for a moment so they wouldn't begin to fall asleep.

"Mary, what are you doing?" I asked softly, a groan evident in my voice.

She chewed on the end of her tongue as she scrawled onto the top of the parchment. A moment later, she held it up for Alice and me to see.

"Thirty things to do before graduation?" I read aloud, my eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "Doesn't that sound a bit…cheesy?" I pointed to the bottom of the page. "There's even a signature spot! You will not corner me in with a contract-"

Mary shook her head vigorously, her blue eyes wide. "No, no, no! Not a contract. Just an innocent list of things for you to accomplish. Chosen by you, helped along by us. We all know that you won't do anything if you don't make yourself first." She paused to wriggle the piece of parchment toward me. "If you write it down, you will."

My eyes shot between Alice and Mary before I leaned forward and snatched the parchment from her hands. "Okay, where do I start?" Mary squealed with excitement as Alice shifted on the cushioned seat, settling in for the long haul.

We sat in the compartment for a few more hours, throwing ideas back and forth between the three of us. An hour before the train was due to arrive, Lily Evans made an appearance after her Head Girl duties (flopping down next to me on the bench) to inform us of James Potter being appointed to Head Boy. Even I was surprised, as I had always pegged Remus Lupin to get it.

"You're telling me," she groaned, curling her long, red hair into a bun at the base of her neck as she blew her bangs out of her face. "Now I'm stuck with him for the entire year-"

"It won't be so bad-" Alice intercepted, trying to be as kind as possible. We all knew how short of a temper Lily had with James.

"He's already asked me out three times."

Alice let out a breath. "I'm so sorry, Lily. I'll cross my fingers that it isn't like fifth year."

Lily rolled her eyes, placing her hands lightly on her stomach as she kicked her feet up onto the bench across from ours. She glanced over to me, scanning the list I held in my lap. It felt silly now, I realized, to make a list of things to accomplish before the end of my seventh year. Lily didn't think so. She thought my liberation from schoolwork was something to be proud of. She even threw in her own suggestion: "Kill James Potter."

I laughed, but didn't bother adding it on the list. To be honest, I couldn't tell whether she was kidding or not. Lily left as the train began to roll to a stop; her new duties as Head Girl were calling. Students started to clatter out of their compartments. I shoved the list into my own schoolbag before hitching it around my small frame. Even in a couple of hours, I had a mighty fine list of things to accomplish. Some would be harder than others, but I was excited to start. Excited, for once, to venture off the train tracks and into what's going on around me.

**I solemnly swear to complete all thirty things by the end of my seventh year. If not, Mary MacDonald has the right to shave off my hair and tattoo a picture of the Loch Ness monster on my lower back. I will place a checkmark next to the number (signed by a witness) in order for the list to be complete. The missions are as followed:**

**Attend a quidditch match.  
2. Attend a House party of some sort. It does not matter if it is celebrating holidays, quidditch wins, or anything else. I just have to go.  
3. "Forget" to turn in an essay.  
4. Sneak out of the common room after hours and get a snack from the kitchens.  
5. Get rip-roaring drunk.  
6. Have a boy ask me to go to Hogsmeade.  
7. Sneak into another common room and steal something from said room.  
8. Take a dip in the Black Lake sometime when it is nearing winter…or actually winter.  
9. Stroll through the Forbidden Forest…at night.  
10. Find a secret passageway in the castle and see where it leads.  
11. Get a detention! Somehow, someway.  
12. Roll up my skirt and wear it shorter than usual during regular school hours.  
13. Sneak a bottle of balding solution into someone's shampoo.  
14. Take a bath in the prefect's bathroom, even though I am aware that I am technically not allowed in there.  
15. Steal a piece of candy or two from Honeydukes.  
16. Break into the Shrieking Shack to see what's in there.  
17. Ride on a broomstick for longer than ten seconds.  
18. Be spontaneous!  
19. Ask a boy out.  
20. Set up a game of Exploding Snaps in the middle of dinner.  
21. Find a way to touch the trunk of the Whomping Willow.  
22. Purposefully botch an interview with a department that I have no interest in working for.  
23. Test a potion's assignment by "accidently" spiking someone's drink with it.  
24. Purposefully skip class.  
25. Land in the hospital wing for something.  
26. Snuggle in bed with a boy without doing anything…inappropriate.  
27. Hex a student when he/she is bullying someone else.  
28. Convince a first year that a Christmas tree ate a student a few years back.  
29. Set loose a pack of dungbombs in a busy hallway during a busy time.  
30. Kiss a boy and have a boy kiss me back.**

**Signed,  
Haley Brams  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**I hope you all enjoyed the first couple chapters of In the Name of Being Honest! I can already tell this is going to be so much fun to write and I can't wait to hear more of what you think. So please, please, please, please leave a review on your way out! I would love you forever!**

**Though, I do already love my readers forever…besides the point.**

**Carry on!**

I sat at the front of the class early Monday morning quickly scratching down the notes that Professor McGonagall had written on the blackboard. We were finally starting real human Transfiguration and by that I don't mean color changing spells. I mean the real stuff. Bodies to couches. Arms to antlers. That sort of thing.

I had even spent a few hours in the library over the weekend, much to Alice and Mary's dismay, studying up on the different ways to transfigure a human and how the spells could go horribly wrong without proper technique.

I anxiously awaited McGonagall's instructions, my wand set in perfect position between my parchment and the end of my desk. As she continued her lecture, I heard a snigger from the back of the classroom. I turned my head just enough to sneak a peek over my shoulder, furrowing my brow at whoever was interrupting the class.

James Potter was bent over his desk, barely containing himself as he pinned a hand over his mouth. Sirius Black, his well known best friend and partner in crime, had taken out his wand and was lazily flicking it at the back of Severus Snape's head. His hair, unbeknownst to him, was rapidly changing colors. Red, green, pink, purple, yellow, and back again.

He had his eyes fixed on the chalkboard, his quill held rigid in his hand as he waited for more notes to appear from Professor McGonagall's lecture. Unfortunately, he had started to attract quite a bit of attention from everyone seated at the back half of the class.

Lily Evans was absolutely fuming. I could tell from the range of death glares she sent toward James, who managed to straighten up his lips just in time for Sirius to change the color, sending him into a fit of laughter once again. Despite the fact that her and Severus had a falling out a couple years back (something about him calling her a mudblood in front of James and Sirius), she still felt a pulling need to protect the kid. And I didn't blame her- they were childhood pals.

I also felt bad in a way. Severus Snape had never been nice to me, but he had never been mean either. He was like everyone else in the school: indifferent toward me, choosing to ignore me. I could understand him to a point, as many were indifferent toward him and chose to ignore him as well. I had known for a long time that Severus had problems with Sirius and James, but he wasn't doing anything this time. He was just taking notes, minding his own business.

Mary, who was seated diagonally behind me, leaned forward and tapped me quickly on the shoulder. "Umm…you could knock off one of the things on your list!"

I widened my eyes, scrambling to take out the roll of parchment from my book bag. Flattening it onto the desk, I scanned down the list and trained my eyes on number 27. Hex a student when he or she is bullying someone else. I craned my neck to look behind me. Half the class was struggling to keep composure as Sirius Black, who was still lazing against his chair, but now looking pleased with himself, continued to change Severus Snape's hair color at a very rapid rate.

He was certainly bullying Severus, though the Slytherin didn't quite know it yet.

I shrugged my shoulders, sending her a frightened look. "I don't know what to do," I hissed toward her, quickly stowing the list underneath my notes, "What do I do? I don't know any hexes like- like that!"

Mary shook her head, a small smile gathered on her lips. "Then do the same thing to him that he's doing to Snape. Use your imagination! I know you have one."

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. I was all for this list since we began writing it on the train ride here. I was trying to be a different person. I was trying to make memories for myself. But could I? Did I have the nerve? What if I got in trouble?

At that moment, my brother's voice popped into my head in a much meaner and more nasally tone than he actually used. "Have fun for once in your life." I squared my shoulders toward the front of the room, taking careful aim underneath the desks in a way that wouldn't appear suspicious. I heard Mary gasp audibly behind me. Even she couldn't believe I was doing this.

I couldn't believe I was doing this…and to a Marauder. I had never had a conversation with any of them in my entire school career. And that doesn't include when I asked Remus Lupin to borrow a quill in the second year, because James Potter had accidently stepped on mine and snapped it. The Marauders were known for pranks, jokes, and not taking life seriously.

I was the complete opposite. Most of the time, people were surprised to hear that I actually had a sense of humor. Evidently most thought that I wasn't born with one. My guess would be that was Daniel's doing.

Not only the whole Marauders thing, but Sirius Black was gorgeous. And I mean really gorgeous. Grey eyes that were always filled with joy, shaggy black hair that hung in his eyes. His shirt was always undone and his tie loose around his neck. He was always laughing, always smiling, always having a good time. He was the epitome of beauty.

He seemed to have it so easy. Life was all fun and games for Sirius Black- a boy who came from a rich and famous family. A boy who had grown up with everything. He would have his pick on where to work, of course. He could skim by with average scores and still get a better job than I could.

And I was jealous.

Okay, I wasn't in love with him or anything. I didn't have a crush on him. I had never talked to him in my life. However, that didn't mean that I couldn't enjoy his looks over the last six years, right? Evidently I wasn't the only one who thought this, for he usually had girls hanging off him left and right in the common room. As I had noticed over the past two years in particular, he decided snogging these irreplaceable gems in front of the fireplace was the best way to spend any evening.

I wasn't interested in that. I had never been. I probably never would be.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves once again as my hand began to shake and my palm began to sweat. I glanced back toward Mary, who raised her eyebrows in question.

"_Multicoloris."_

In an instant I knew my charm had hit my target. There was a squawk of surprise from James Potter and a few gasps and giggles from students around the room. I peeked over my shoulder to see what sort of damage I had caused. I spun around in my seat, my cheeks burning bright red as I faced the blackboard. I couldn't believe I just did that. I could not BELIEVE I just did that.

I just gave Sirius Black purple hair.

A small smile appeared on my face, though the burning sensation in my cheeks hadn't yet subsided. I actually did that. I actually finished a task on the list. I sent the small grin over to Mary, who was staring incredulously at Sirius from across the room.

She pointed frantically at my notes and it only took me a moment to realize that she wanted me to send the list her way, which I did instantaneously. She picked up her quill and quickly signed it, making sure to place a check mark next to the number.

One down, twenty nine to go.

"Mr. Black. What on earth are you doing? What have you done with your hair?" Professor McGonagall called over the heads of my classmates. I took the roll of parchment back from Mary, stuffing it into my bag before turning guiltily back toward the front of the room.

"What do you mean, Professor?" he sent back with a lazy grin on his lips as he turned his wand away from Severus, smoothly transitioning the Slytherin's hair back to black without the professor noticing. I could have sworn a few girls swooned at the easy going look. "Don't like the way I styled it this morning?" That earned a few chuckles from classmates.

McGonagall pursed her lips into a tight line (never a good sign) before responding, "I'm not quite sure that color suits you, Mr. Black."

Sirius's smile dropped off faster than if someone had popped a rather full Snargaluff pod right in his face. He stood up from his desk, scrapping the wooden legs against the stone floor as he made his way quickly to a mirror that was perched against the wall.

This was it. I was dead. He was going to somehow figure out it was me. He wasn't an idiot, unfortunately. He was incredibly intelligent. I reminisced on a few occasions of when he got mad at Severus. One time, they hung the poor guy upside down and tried to take off his trousers.

Would he hoist me in the air and try to take off my trousers? My cheeks burned with mortification at just the thought. This was a bad idea. A very bad idea. How could I ever think that I could change my ways after sixteen years? I was okay with my books. I was okay with being ignored. I was okay with-

"Holy-" He cut off my thoughts as he reached the dirty mirror, running his hand through the now purple locks. He turned back toward McGonagall, a wide smile appeared again on his face. "I don't know what you see, Professor. I think this color suits me just fine."

The class burst into laughter. My heart was beginning to settle down. I could feel the sensation coming back to the tips of my fingers. My cheeks were no longer burning from humiliation and guilt. He thought it was funny. I pranked Sirius Black and he thought it was funny.

"Find your seat," the Transfiguration professor said as she pointed toward the now-empty desk with parchment and a quill lying haphazardly across it. I remember in second year that I doubted he even knew how to work a quill.

Sirius strutted back to his chair, flopping effortlessly into it as he sent a wink toward Dorcas Meadows, Lily Evans' best friend. She grinned at him, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder as she studied the boy with her green eyes. McGonagall quickly turned Sirius's hair back to black before resuming her lecture.

But for the first time in all my Hogwarts years, I couldn't sit still. I had no interest in what kind of human Transfiguration the professor was talking about. I didn't even bother picking up my quill. It was an odd feeling- a liberating feeling. I felt a chunk of concrete fall from the box that held my freedom and mistake making thoughts.

For the first time in my life, I felt alive.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone! I was going to wait until after Christmas to post another chapter, but then I thought, what could be even better for my readers than an extra long Sirius-filled chapter right before Christmas? So…MERRY CHRISTMAS! **

**If you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have an incredibly awesome holiday season with your friends and family. YOU are the reason I keep posting on Fanfic, so make sure to give yourselves a massive pat on the back and a fist pump in the air for being the best audience I could hope for!**

**As always, make sure to send a review on your way out…it is the holiday season after all! If you're looking for something to read during the days I don't update, check out the completed Natalie Garcia series on my page! **

**Read and enjoy!**

_It was a gloriously clear night. The crescent moon that hovered overhead looked crisp and clean against the black cloth of the night sky, sprinkled with stars and constellations that were easy to see. The chill in the air was enough to keep my nerves on edge, in a pleasant sort of way._

_And the smell- the mixture of grass, lake, and forest- was enough to turn the scene, if possible, into one of ethereal perfection. _

_I set my elbows on the cool brick, placing my chin in the palm of my hand as I staring out at the grounds, waiting. Footsteps behind me signified that he was here, he had decided to come._

"_Haley?"_

_I slowly turned, dragging my gaze from the dark lake and the small waves that lapped against the rocks at the shore. A small smile pulled at my lips as I locked my bright, blue eyes with his grey ones._

"_Sirius. I thought you'd never show up."_

_He took a few steps forward, quickly grabbing onto my hand and pulling it to his chest._

"_For you, I could never forget."_

_He leaned forward, closing his eyes so his top lashes scraped the tips of his cheekbones. He was coming closer and closer…I didn't know why I wasn't stopping him…Why wasn't I stopping him?_

"JAMES POTTER! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

I jumped in surprise, nearly smacking my head on one of the wooden posts that stood at the corner of my bed. To my right, Alice groaned in response, stuffing her head further into the pillow. I slowly sank my head back into the warmth of the bed.

It wasn't the first time James and Lily had woken up nearly the entire Gryffindor house with their fights and it certainly wasn't going to be the last. Most of the time it was more annoying than anything, but this time I was secretly glad for the interruption.

I was fairly certain dream-me was going to be kissed by dream-Sirius. I crinkled my nose and shook my head, trying to rid my mind of the thoughts. It wasn't gross by any means of the word; I was sure that kissing Sirius would be nothing less than enjoyable, but it was the fact that I had a DREAM about it.

Like I was a love-struck teenager. Merlin, a girl pulls one prank on a boy (my take on the joke got remarkably better and better with each passing day) and suddenly she's having dreams about him. I made a mental note to stay away from Sirius, not wanting to bring on anymore dream-Sirius and dream-me scenarios.

I heaved a sigh before ripping off the covers and rolling out of bed, being careful to let my feet get used to the cool temperature of the floorboards, before padding into the bathroom and shutting the door behind me. That effectively cut off the yelling that was still going on downstairs, no doubt from Lily more than James.

I quickly brushed my teeth and turned on the water in the shower, wanting to rinse off the grimy feeling from working in Greenhouse Three the day before. After I finished toweling off, I slowly pulled on my jeans and tight fitting gray shirt. I laced up my sneakers before grabbing my book bag and hoisting it over my shoulder.

"You cannot take Fanged Frisbees and dungbombs from first years to use for yourself!" Lily was still ranting as I skirted past them, keeping my head down so I wouldn't draw too much attention. "You are Head Boy now, only God knows why, so you need to start acting like it."

Sirius, much to my dismay his hair had been changed back, had casually thrown himself into an armchair closest to the fireplace, watching the one-sided fight with an amused expression on his face. Remus was holed in the corner, a couple of books spread onto the table in front of him. I couldn't help but notice that he looked tired, really tired. Large bags hung under his eyes and his pupils were glazed over as if he had tried to pull an all-nighter with the study materials that surrounded him.

In my haste to get across the common room, I nearly knocked into Peter Pettigrew, who had just climbed down the boy's staircase. He was rubbing the sleepiness from his face, trying to understand the argument in front of him.

"She totally wants you, mate," Sirius threw in toward James, who grinned down at Lily with a tooth-bearing smile.

Lily looked furious for a moment before she stuck her finger into James's chest. "No, no I absolutely do not 'want you.' You are a pest, an annoying pest, and I cannot wait until the day of graduation when I can finally get you out of my life." She spun on her heel before storming away, accidently knocking her shoulder into mine.

My book bag went sprawling onto the floor. Papers, books, ink pots, and quills scattered the maroon carpet. I sighed in frustration before bending down to stuff the supplies back into my bag. In her blind rage, Lily hadn't even noticed the mess she left behind.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," James said as he bent down next to me, gathering the loose parchment into a pile before handing it to me. I blushed crimson, muttering a thank you as I stood from my perch near the floor. "She…she really didn't see you, I promise."

I was surprised. I had recently thought that James continued to ask Lily out only to wind her up, but the way he stuck up for her made me think otherwise. Maybe he actually did have feelings for her.

"It's…it's okay," I muttered, not sure how to respond, "I know that she wouldn't have done it on purpose."

James smiled, pushing his round glasses up further on his nose. He stood back, surveying me for a moment. I shifted uncomfortably on my feet, anxious under his scrutinizing gaze. "You're a girl," he finally said, pointing to me as if he had just figured it out for the first time.

I furrowed my brow. "Yeah, since birth."

Sirius let out a bark of laughter, but James ignored him. "You're a girl," he repeated, but this time he continued on, "What advice would you give to someone who has been trying to ask out the same person for six years and gets turned down every time?"

He awaited my answer, peering down at me with wide eyes. I softly shrugged, wrapping my arms across my chest self-consciously. "Well, erm, I don't know. I've never really-"

"But if you had to give someone advice," he pressed on, "if someone had a wand to your head and was forcing you to spew out something, what would you say?"

I shifted again, kicking at a fray in the carpet with the toe of my sneaker. "I would say to maybe- erm- leave her alone for awhile? Pretend to get over her? Maybe she'll warm up to you if you weren't-" I quickly stopped myself, not wanting to accuse James Potter of anything.

Evidently he understood what I meant as he furrowed his brow. "You don't think I stalk her do you?"

The timing couldn't have been more perfect as Sirius rolled off the armchair and grabbed onto the front of James's robes, dragging him toward the portrait hole. "If we don't go now, we won't get any breakfast. And I do not feel like hiking down to the kitchens only to wait for some eggs and toast. Coming Moony?"

Remus shook his head declining the invitation, his eyes narrowed as he quickly scanned through a chapter of Beginning Potions, Year One.

I sucked in a breath as Sirius breezed by me and out of the common room, not bothering to say anything. I couldn't help, but notice the awfully good smelling cologne he put on that morning. Or the way his black hair fell into his gray eyes. Or the way his jeans hung off his hips. Or-

I shook my head quickly. What the hell was wrong with me? I had absolutely no interest in Sirius Black five days ago, up until that stupid prank. The way his eyes lit up with laughter as he surveyed his purple hair in the mirror. He would never guess that it was me that did it. To be honest, he probably didn't care. He probably thought it was James or Remus trying to have a good laugh.

"What are the indications for the Sleeping Draught?"

I snapped out of my thoughts, turning my attention toward Remus Lupin, who was intently staring at me from across the room. "I…I'm sorry?" I apologized as I took a few steps closer to him. "I didn't get that."

"The indications for the Sleeping Draught?" Remus repeated as he sighed in frustration, tossing his quill onto the thick roll of parchment. "I've been going over this stupid book for two hours already and I can't find anything about the indications."

I set my book bag down onto the floor next to an empty seat before dropping myself into the wooden chair. I pulled over his notes and grazed over them, ignoring the fact that he was watching me. My palms were sweaty under his constant gaze, making me feel nervous and anxious.

"Well," I said slowly, pushing the notes back into his hand, "Probably the number one reason would be to treat insomnia or maybe if they were sick? Something along the lines of putting them to sleep." I shook my head while lightly shrugging my shoulders. "If I were to hazard a guess, that's what I would say."

He grinned widely back at me before hunching over to scribble down the answers on his parchment. He sighed, once again tossing his quill onto the parchment, this time splattering ink across the thick paper. "I'm trying to get a head start on studying for the NEWT exams," he explained, nodding toward the cluster of notes and book around him, "but it seems I've forgotten the basics of everything."

I giggled, gesturing toward my unusually unorganized bag, parchment and books haphazardly stuffed into it from when Lily rammed into me and knocked it all out. "I'm headed to the library to start studying as well. You can't start too early, that's my motto."

There was an awkward pause as Remus nodded his head slowly, obviously unsure of what to say. I huffed inwardly, wondering why my presence in general made everything this awkward. I stood from the seat and started to back out of the common room, ripping my bag off the floor.

"I, uh, I guess I'll just be going," I managed to stutter out as he shot me an odd look, his eyes flicking down to the floor around my feet. I glanced down, groaning in irritation as a quite a few rolls of parchment finally dislodged themselves from the edge of my bag and fluttered to the ground.

Remus jumped out of his chair and picked up a few pieces while I stuffed the rolls closest to my feet into the book bag, silently hoping that I didn't crumble my fifteen inch essay on Uses for Gillyweed that was due early next week. I took the rolls one by one from him until my bag was full and I quickly hitched the strap over my shoulder, holding out my hands in a refusing gesture.

"No, you keep that one. It's blank and I'm fairly certain that you'll need it more than I." I eyed the pile of mish-mashed subjects scattered over each other. "I'll see you around, Remus. Thanks for your help." I spun on my heel and flew from the room before something else could happen.

"Wait!" I heard Remus call from behind me, but I ignored him. "This parchment isn't blank-!"

The portrait swung shut behind him, effectively cutting off any noise from the common room. I sighed a breath of relief as I made my way toward the library, making sure to take the walk slowly so my rapidly beating heart would calm down by the time I got there.

…..

A few hours after dinner, I peeled away from Alice and Mary, who were on their way to study in our dormitory. After having spent eight hours in the library, I had no interest in immersing myself in school books until tomorrow. Wrapping myself up in a blanket with one of my favorite books in front of the fireplace seemed like a pretty good idea to me. Luckily, the majority of the Gryffindor members had gone to bed for the evening, save for the Marauders who were all gathered in a cluster around Remus in the back of the room, so I managed to find a comfortable seat.

Curling my legs underneath me, I summoned a blanket from my dorm and pulled the book I had been reading out of my bag.

"Is this a letter from a girl, Remus?" I heard one of the boys whoop in the corner. "Seems like pretty girly handwriting to me."

"No, it's not a note for me, James. She gave me a blank piece of parchment, which turned out to not be so blank. I just haven't had the chance to give it to her yet."

"Let me see this," another one of the boys said before the sound of parchment being torn from someone's hand echoed across the common room. My curiosity was peaked at that point, but I continued to pretend to read my book. "Is this…is this really what I think it is? Who is Haley Brams?"

My head shot up at the mention of my name, but I quickly hid behind my book, sliding further into the armchair once I noticed the four boys had gone quiet, most likely realizing that I was sitting in the same vicinity as them.

"Are you Haley Brams?"

I flicked my eyes away from my book, pretending that I hadn't heard their entire conversation from the start. Sirius Black was casually seated on the arm of the chair next to me, his gray eyes sprinkled with amusement. I sighed and shut my book, placing it neatly in my lap. "Yes, I am."

Sirius unrolled the parchment in his hand and raked his gaze over it one more time before shaking his head and turning the roll so I could read it. "Is this yours?"

My heart seemed to skip a few beats, my breathing went ragged. I was pretty sure that my face lost quite a few shades of color. "Where did you get that?" I leaned forward to try and snatch it from his hand, but he quickly moved it away.

"Evidently you gave it to Moony this morning," he retorted, flipping the roll once more so he could consult it again. "Is this really a list of things to do before graduation? No joking around at all?"

I didn't say anything, which Sirius took as the answer to his question.

"I finish half the things on this list in a single night." He scanned the parchment once more, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "You've never been to a Gryffindor party? What are you, a second year?"

I felt my face pink up a little bit as I tried to snatch it once more, but he quickly slid his body back into the cushion of the seat, so just his legs were draped across the arm of the chair. Now it was impossible for me to get the roll without getting out of my seat first.

"Oy, Padfoot, give it up," Remus called from the corner, "Just give it back to her already."

Sirius ignored his friend, instead fixing his intense stare onto me. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, tearing my eyes away from his and trained them onto the maroon carpet.

"You've never done any of these things? Oh wait, one has been signed off. Number 27; hex a student when he or she is bullying someone." He let the parchment fall into his lap. "I'm curious, Haley Brams, as to what you did to that person."

I licked my lips, but refused to answer. How in the world was I going to tell him that the person I hexed was him? I kicked myself internally. Next time, I need to look at the rolls of parchment before handing them out to students. They could get into the wrong hands…like Sirius Black.

It seems as if Sirius was reading my mind, because his mouth fell open slightly as he flicked his eyes to the parchment (probably number 27) and then back to me then to the parchment once more. "That was you. In Transfiguration with the purple hair, that was you."

Once again, I didn't say anything, but I didn't have to. He took my silence as the answer to his question. "I should kiss you right now," he said before letting out a bark of laughter. I ripped my gaze from the carpet and stared at him incredulously.

"Excuse me?" Obviously I didn't hear him correctly. Who in the world would laugh at having their hair dyed purple in the middle of a lesson? Definitely not Severus Snape, that's for sure.

"That was genius, pure genius. Hey, Prongs," he called over his shoulder, sitting up a little so he could look at his friend over the back of the armchair. "Remember the purple hair incident from a couple days ago?" He paused to point in my direction. My face flushed once more at becoming the center of attention. "That was Haley!"

James let out a loud laugh, running a hand through his already messy, black hair. "We've been trying to figure out who it was for the past few days! How did you?"

Sirius, to my utter mortification, held up the roll of parchment for the rest of the Marauders to see. "Number 27, hex a student when he or she is bullying someone. She turned my hair purple, because I was messing with Snivellus!"

James roared with laughter once more, adding to the embarrassment on my part. Finally having enough, I ripped the blanket off my lap and stormed over to Sirius. He shoved the roll under his back, refusing to let me have it. I dug around his sides, trying to catch the parchment, but he had a firm grip on it. He let out another bark of laughter at my huff of frustration. I tucked a piece of my curly, blonde hair behind my ear before crossing my arms over my chest.

"Can I have it back, please?" I said, staring at Sirius intently. He rolled off the chair and stood up, closing the distance between myself and him. I had to look up to see his face, as the top of my head only came to the tip of his chin. His eyes were even more beautiful this close and I found that I had a hard time keeping calm once I breathed in his musky scent.

"I don't think so," he replied, a grin on his face, "Not yet anyways." He took a few steps back, unrolling the parchment in front of him. He grinned down at me before rolling up the parchment and sticking it into the back of his jeans. "Come with me, I have something to show you."

I tightened my arms around my chest, cocking an eyebrow at him. "Excuse me?"

"Come with me."

I opened and closed my mouth a few times before responding. "No, I don't think so."

Sirius flashed an amused look at me before crossing his own arms over his chest, reflecting my stance toward him. "And why not?"

"I-I could think of a multitude of-of reasons," I retorted, stumbling over my words at the sight of him. He set his face into a very interested expression, nodding his head a few times as if he were taking in the other side of a highly anticipated debate. "It's after hours, we could get in trouble. You could hang me from my underwear in the Great Hall or something as equally embarrassing for turning your hair purple. So no, I don't think I'll be following you anywhere." I sent him a curt nod, effectively ending my argument. Unfortunately, Sirius Black always had something to say.

"Luckily for you, sneaking out after hours and getting a detention are both things on your little list." He paused to pat the parchment that hung out of the back pocket of his jeans. "So you would really be killing two birds with one stone. Plus, I know that you're at least a little curious as to where I would be taking you."

He got me there. I had been incredibly curious. I didn't respond to his statement, so he smiled and gestured for me to follow him.

"Come on, Brams. It'll be worth your while."

I hesitated for a moment, rocking back and forth on my heels before lurching forward. My steps seemed to be slow, but I stood next to Sirius in record time. It felt as if I was having an out of body experience as I followed him out of the common room and into the dimly lit hallway.

"Where are we going anyways?" I whispered, though the words still echoed across the stone walls. I jumped at the unexpected noise and he let out a small laugh.

"You'll know soon enough. Keep your thestrals in line, will you?"

I shot him a glare, but continued to follow him down a narrow staircase. I walked directly behind him, as the walls were so narrow that it would have been impossible to walk side by side. I let out a sigh as we continued our descent. "So will this count as the 'be spontaneous' because I think sneaking out of the common room with you is bad enough-"

Sirius let out a small chuckle as he emerged into another dimly lit corridor, checking the surroundings quickly before gesturing for me to come out. The cool night breeze hit me as soon as I left the confines of the small stairway. He let the thick tapestry fall back into line, covering up the stairway completely.

"How did you know that was there?"

The boy shook his head, letting out a sigh as he turned to look down at me. "Do you ever stop talking?"

I sent him another glare as I gestured for him to keep going down the corridor. He grinned widely before skirting across the stone floor, stopping in front of a giant picture.

"I didn't leave the common room to 'ooo' and 'ahh' over a painted picture of a bowl of fruit. Seriously, what are we doing?"

"Just watch," Sirius smiled as he reached over and tickled the pear. It squirmed and giggled for a moment before transforming into a door handle. My jaw dropped as I took a few steps forward and Sirius looked back at me, laughing once again at my facial expression. "Yeah, I thought you would be rather impressed."

"So where does it lead?"

He put a tight hold on the handle and tugged, swinging the giant portrait forward. I had to sidestep it to keep from getting hit. He gestured for me to enter first, but I didn't have to go in very far to figure out where he had taken me. The kitchens, he brought me down to the kitchens.

I smiled brightly up at him, amazed at the army of house elves that stood in front of us, bustling around getting things ready for the next day.

"How did you find out where this was?" I asked in awe as I watched the house elves nearest me clean out dust pans.

"Just sneaking out late, exploring the castle."

"Can Miffy get yous anything?" A small house elf stopped in front of us. Her large eyes were wide. Her ears were bent in half, the tip nearly touching the top of her head. She was wearing a large pillowcase, which remained clean despite having just finished washing the full sink of dishes.

"Erm…hot chocolate?" I asked hesitantly, not sure if the house elf would make it or not. I glanced back at Sirius who muttered in agreement that he would like one as well. It didn't take long for Miffy to whip it up and in no time I was blowing on the hot beverage in an effort to cool it down.

"Thank you," I said quietly, my lips cautiously touching the side of the cup, as steam was still pouring off the liquid, "for bringing me down here."

He shrugged indifferently, taking a big sip of the hot chocolate as if the heat didn't bother him. "How could I let a fellow Gryffindor graduate without getting into any sort of mischief? That would be just plain rude in my book."

I couldn't help but let out a giggle as I took a small sip, enjoying the fluid running down my throat. He set his own cup down onto the nearest countertop, the noise echoing loudly across the large kitchen, before pulling out the roll of parchment from his back pocket.

"So, it doesn't matter who signs this, right? Just as long as it gets signed?" He pulled a quill out of his back pocket and quickly put a check mark and his signature next to _4- Sneak out of the common room after hours and get a snack from the kitchen. _He held out the parchment and I took it softly. "Two down, twenty eight to go."

"That is probably the sweetest thing that anyone has ever done for me," I said as I tucked the parchment into my own pocket.

"And that, love, is incredibly sad."


	5. Chapter 5

**I hope everyone had a great holiday season and I also hope that Santa was good to all of you! So here is my special post-holiday present to you: Chapter five!**

**Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews! I have loved reading each and every one of them, so keep 'em coming! **

**Read and enjoy!**

"I would never date you even if you were the last living THING on Earth," Lily spat at James as she dumped the water from her bottle onto his head. Gasps of surprise and astonishment littered the room as people began unpacking their wands and parchment for what was sure to be an incredibly invigorating Charms lesson. "Now just leave me the hell alone, Potter."

I glanced over to Alice, whose eyebrows were nearly touching her hairline, as she slowly turned back to her shoulder bag, whistling softly under her breath. "She's cracked up," she whispered to me, gesturing over her shoulder toward Lily, who was now seated at her desk with a livid expression on her face. "Head girl is getting to her or something."

I honestly didn't blame Lily one bit. After six years of failed attempts, you would think that James Potter would have given up by now. But no. As soon as we entered the Charms classroom, there sat (on Lily's desk) a bouquet of giant roses and mini fireworks that shone in a banner above the flowers reading 'Will you be my date to Hogsmeade?'

"Seems to me that James didn't take your advice. That's the third time this week."

I glanced over my shoulder, surprised to see Sirius had abandoned his post next to his best friend and was pulling a quill and parchment out of his bag. I furrowed my brow. "What are you doing over here? I thought you usually sat with the Musketeers."

"We prefer Marauders," he corrected me as he tossed his wand haphazardly onto the table. "Anyways, I was going to ask what was next for us to conquer on the list."

My own eyebrows shot high on my forehead, though I was pretty sure that they disappeared into my hairline altogether. "Us?"

Sirius nodded, his grin widening on his face. "Yeah, us. You have me too involved now, I can't just quit on you. Besides, if I help you plan them… you can't turn around and use me as a human guinea pig again."

I flushed slightly as I turned back to the front of the room. His musky scent drifted toward me and I breathed deeply, my heart rate accelerating. What was wrong with me? It was only a bit of cologne. He was more annoying than anything, I told myself. Sitting there all high and mighty, assuming that he could automatically help me with my list just because he brought me down to the kitchens.

Though it was a highly appreciated gesture. Alice and Mary could hardly believe their ears when I told the story. They only found it to be true because of Sirius's messy signature directly next to the challenge, accompanied by a large check mark.

"The hottest boy in school wants to help you with this?" Mary moaned as she fell back onto her bed. "And all you could say was thank you? You didn't even bother to shag him in the kitchen?"

Alice squawked in surprise at the comment and I muttered something intangible under my breath, hoping that she wouldn't bring it up again. Luckily she didn't…in public at least.

"I do remember reading something about a shortened skirt," he whispered in my ear as he leaned forward, his breath sending tingles down my neck. "You could hike that one up a bit and I'll sign off on it for you."

I spun around in my seat, glaring at him. "You are such a pig, Sirius Black. There are twenty-eight other things on that list and you go for a shortened skirt." I began to face the front of the classroom again, but spun around once more, my index finger pointing at him threateningly. "You've seen enough shortened skirts and whatever lies beneath to last you a lifetime. I, on the other hand, have dignity and class." I faced the front of the classroom this time, picking up my quill to begin taking notes.

Sirius snorted behind me, leaning even more forward to continue the conversation. "That's incredibly frank of you considering the only time we had a conversation was two nights ago. I apologize for not researching your entire background and preferences before coming to class this morning."

I couldn't help but smile as I leaned back in an effort to speak without disturbing the class. "I only observe from afar. You're kissing a different girl every night in the common room. It's hard not to notice after awhile."

He paused, but I could hear the smirk in his voice as he spoke. "I didn't realize you were paying that much attention to me. I'm very flattered, honestly."

I let out a chuckle of laughter before scribbling down a few notes that Professor Flitwick had posted on the board. We were discussing the bad effects of a Cheering Charm. Review from the end of last year, but I wanted to take the notes anyways. You never know when you might learn something new.

I felt something graze my ankle and, as I glanced down, I noticed that my book bag was slowly moving away from me. I watched it for a moment, wondering where it could be going, when I saw that Sirius had his wand pointed at it and was slowly moving it in his direction.

I quickly stomped on it.

"Just trying to get your list out, Haley," he muttered, this time using his foot to try and drag the bag from under my own, "Give up the book bag already."

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's rude to go through a lady's things?"

"My mother taught me many things, Miss Brams," he retorted quietly, "Fortunately for me and unfortunately for you, that was not one of them." He reached under the desk with his left hand and gave one last tug to my bag, freeing it from under my foot and effectively moving my desk an inch backward. It scraped across the stone floor, creating an awful screeching noise as it did so.

"Haley Brams," Professor Flitwick said as he looked up from his notes on the board, furrowing his brown into an expression of confusion. "Will you see me after class please?"

The class 'ooo'-ed as I turned bright pink. I shot one last glare toward Sirius, who shrugged innocently, before spending the last 45 minutes of the lesson facing forward despite the fact that he was rummaging profusely through my book bag.

As the class was dismissed, I snatched my things from the hands of the traitor and slowly made my way toward the front of the room. Alice and Mary shot me worried looks as they lingered at the back of the room. I gestured for them to go on, not wanting them to be late for the next class on my account. I had a break next anyways.

"Miss Brams, I'm kind of concerned about your behavior with Mr. Black today," Professor Flitwick said as the class finally cleared out, the last person shutting the door behind them. "It really isn't like you and-"

"I know," I interrupted, hitching my bag onto my shoulder as I crossed my arms over my chest, "I know and I'm very sorry about interrupting the lesson today. I promise, it won't happen again."

The professor studied me for a moment before replying. "That's good to hear, Haley. I would hate for you to come so far in your education, only to fall short your last year."

I solemnly agreed, promising him that it would be the first and last time I acted up in class. Damn that Sirius Black for trying to get me in trouble. I put on a wide grin as I walked out of the room, despite my internal fuming.

As I shut the door behind me with a sharp snap, I saw one person in particular had stayed behind. He was leaning casually against the wall, one foot propped up on a stone that was sticking out farther than the others. I ignored my frantically beating heart and walked past him, determined to pay no attention to him for the rest of the year.

"So? What's the verdict? Detention?"

I continued to ignore him, picking up my pace toward the library, but he kept up easily.

"Come on, Haley. Don't be like this. I was only trying to help."

I stopped in my tracks, spinning around quickly to face him. Sirius stumbled slightly, placing his hands on my shoulders to keep himself from running into me. "While I appreciate your help, Black, I would rather not be pulled aside at the end of class because I was causing too much of a distraction for the other students."

"So you didn't even get a detention?"

I was appalled at his crestfallen behavior. "Didn't even get a- he called me out in front of the entire class and made me stay behind. I've never had that happen before and-"

Sirius shook his head slowly, disappointment setting in on his face. "Oh that's nothing. Damn, I'm going to have to try harder next time."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, counting to two hundred and fifty as I did. "What's your game, Sirius?" I asked as I reopened my eyes, staring up into his gray ones. "What are you trying to prove here?"

He shrugged, casually leaning against the closest wall. It made him look extremely- nope I'm not even going to go there. "No game, I promise. Just trying to help out a fellow house member. Besides, it isn't everyday that a girl wants to wreak havoc in the school. I just thought I could offer my services to you."

"I don't want to 'wreak havoc' so to say," I said quietly, shuffling my feet against the rough stone. "Besides, I have Mary and Alice to help me who, by the way-"

"Don't even have a disobedient bone in their body," Sirius interrupted, shaking his head. "The last time Mary was drunk was fifth year, she threw up in the fireplace and nearly burnt down the common room. They both mean well, don't get me wrong, but they've had one, maybe two detentions their entire time here. Forgive me, but in this situation, you need the help of a professional."

I narrowed my eyes at him, placing my hands on my hips as I studied him for a moment. "And that's it? You just want to help me? Nothing expected on the side- no meeting in the Shrieking Shack for a quicky during a Hogsmeade trip?"

He laughed loudly, shaking his finger at me. "You're actually kind of funny, Brams. I wouldn't have expected that from you." I mumbled under my breath, cursing the day I accidently gave the list to Remus Lupin. "But no, nothing expected on the side." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his school pants, rocking back and forth on his heel. "Unless, of course, you offered-"

I groaned in response, pushing past him in an effort to head toward the library, but he easily caught up with me.

"Just kidding, Brams, just kidding. But in all seriousness, nothing expected on the side. It'll be fun! Sneaking out of the common room at night, teaching the younger generation about mischief-"

"I'm the same age as you, Black."

"-Teaching fellow Gryffindor members, who are in fact the same age as me, about mischief. It can be our thing. Come on, let's do it."

I narrowed my eyes at him again, but didn't stop my brisk walk down the hallway. Unfortunately, he was harder to shake off than I thought. "Why can't you do all these things with the Musketeers-"

"Marauders."

I ignored him. "-Because, honestly, I don't get why you would rather do these things with me, which you claim to do on a daily basis anyways, instead of cuddling with James in front of the fireplace or snogging a girl in a cold, dark alcove in the dungeons."

He looked momentarily interested, weighing the pros and cons of each option. "Well, I'll still end up doing these things on a daily basis with James, it's not like he's falling off the face of the planet. And snogging in a cold, dark alcove in the dungeons really doesn't sound too romantic to me anyways."

I snorted, turning the corner to head up the Grand Staircase. "I apologize. I didn't realize you were going for romantic."

He let out a smile, climbing the stairs next to me. "That's my middle name, you know, Sirius Romantic-"

"Mr. Black, Miss Brams what are you supposed to be doing?"

I wheeled around, surprised to see Professor McGonagall climbing the stairs behind us, her nostrils flared and her lips in a tight line on her face. Never a good sign.

"I'm going to the library, professor," I chimed out immediately, in the most polite (and calm) voice that I could. Which was ridiculous, since I wasn't doing anything wrong. McGonagall nodded, now turning her attention toward Sirius, who was trying hard to hide the smirk that kept appearing on his face.

"And you, Mr. Black?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm supposed to be in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor."

She seemed to have the same expression that I had been using lately. The one where she had to count back from a thousand, because Sirius Black was so infuriating. "And why aren't you there, Sirius?"

"Well, Professor McGonagall, let me tell you a story." He started to walk up the staircase, closely followed by the professor and myself. "While I stayed at the Potters' house over the summer, we got a little pamphlet in the mail. This little pamphlet talked about the rising dangers of You-Know-Who and his followers and to not go anywhere by yourself-"

"Get to the point," she snapped, evidently coming very close to finishing her countdown.

"Yes professor," he said hurriedly, but continued on with his story. "Anyways, we also talked in Defense Against the Dark Arts earlier this week about the importance of using the 'buddy system,' especially in these dark times. As a future auror, I couldn't ignore my civil duty once I heard that Haley Brams was going to the library by herself. How would I have felt if something terrible happened to her?" He pounded his fist on the marble banister to make a point. "And then I thought, Professor Shilling could not be mad at me if he knew I had taken his lecture to heart, so I decided to escort Miss Brams to the library to make sure she got here okay."

Professor McGonagall looked utterly defeated, and exhausted, by the time he finished his speech. I half expected her to give him at least five detentions, but she merely shook her head in response. "Get to class, Mr. Black. If you're so worried about Miss Bram's journey to the library, then I can escort her myself."

"It's really okay, professor. I can make it alone." I shot Sirius an incredulous look as he grinned at me, sending a wink in my direction. Damn heart flutters.

McGonagall slid past us, exiting off the staircase on the third floor to head to her classroom. "I expect you to be in class within ten minutes, Mr. Black. I will be asking Professor Shilling what time you ended up making it."

Sirius faked a salute as she marched off. I let out the breath I had evidently been holding in, turning to look up at him as he grinned down easily at me. "That, Sirius Black, was actually rather impressive. How on earth did you get away with that?"

He shrugged, hitching his bag onto his shoulder. "Six going on seven years of making excuses to slide by the professors. You don't get good at it over night, I promise you that."

I shook my head, getting off the staircase at the fourth floor to head toward the library. I slid my hand along the marble banister for a moment before speaking. "So, if I were to accept your help, when would we get started?"

Sirius chuckled, starting to head up the stairs backwards, so he could keep his eye on me. "Let's not pretend you aren't going to accept my help, okay? We'll meet in the common room after dinner and discuss our plans then."

"I haven't even accepted your help yet!" I yelled back at him, but he only waved as he turned the corner and disappeared onto another set of stairs. I huffed in frustration. What the hell had I gotten myself into?


	6. Chapter 6

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone had an awesome (and safe!) New Year's celebration! I know that I did! And here is the first chapter of 2013! *cheers and screams from the audience!***

**The reviews and everything have been wonderful, so make sure to keep it up!**

**Read and enjoy!**

By the looks of the trees in the Forbidden Forest, autumn was fast approaching Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Much to my excitement, summer seemed to be holding out as long as possible. The warm breeze and sunny skies made it nice enough to wander outside with just jeans and a t-shirt on. Which is exactly what I had planned to do, while I still could at least.

"I just want you to be careful," Alice was saying as we climbed the spiral staircase to the Owlery. I slid my hand along the rough, stone wall, taking in the senses rather than listen to my best friend prattle on about this subject. Again. "This is Sirius Black we're talking about. He's an entirely different personality than you're used to and-"

I rolled my eyes, scoffing at her. "Do you know my brother? He and Sirius are one in the same, so I'm very used to tackling…that kind of personality." I paused, letting that information sink in before I continued. "But, I am aware of the Sirius Black charm. He cut our meeting- mind you, the meeting HE set up- short to get it on with a sixth year Hufflepuff in an empty classroom."

"Oh, that's gross."

I sighed, nodding my head in agreement as Alice put her hand on the owlery door and pulled it open, making sure to check for owl droppings before heading inside. "Anyways, just know that I am being careful."

Alice was silent for a moment as she pulled out a thick envelope from the inside of her jacket. A letter addressed to Frank Longbottom, her boyfriend, who was a year older and a current intern in the Auror Program at the Ministry of Magic. I knew that Alice wanted to follow in his shoes, not just because he was the love of her life, but also because being an Auror was right up Alice's alley.

She was into that kind of danger, drama, and intrigue. I, on the other hand, was not.

"Well," she continued on after tying the letter to the leg of an incredibly squirmy barn owl, "Not only for that, but Sirius seems to have an aversion to ANY kind of rules at all. I just don't want you getting into actual trouble."

I giggled, unable to contain myself. "Alice, I'm not turning into a harlot or pickpocket. It's just a bit of fun to take my mind off the stress of lessons and exams, that's all." I placed my hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes so she knew I was serious. "If I was going to turn into a hooker, I would tell you. I promise."

She snorted, pushing my hands off her shoulders as we walked back toward the entrance of the owlery. She shrugged her jacket off her shoulders, snuggling it against her stomach as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And you're sure you don't want to watch the match? It would be one less than for you to worry about checking off your list."

I shook my head as I pulled the door at the base of the tower open, gesturing for her to go through first. "No, it's really okay. The game is only Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff. You want my first quidditch experience to be a good game, right?"

Alice smiled as she rolled her eyes. "You're right, as always." She checked her watch, jumping when she realized the time. "Oh! Forgot that I was meeting Mary and Marlene McKinnon, the Ravenclaw. You know her right? Anyways, I was supposed to be there five minutes ago, so I have to rush." She patted me on the cheek before heading toward the main cobblestone path that led to the Quidditch Pitch, which was already crawling with students and faculty, even though the match didn't start for another twenty minutes.

I sighed, grateful to be on my own for once, but a little disheartened that I had decided not to attend. I really could have gone if I wanted to, but Professor Slughorn's potion essay on the different antidotes to popular poisons was calling my name. Mary and Alice had been putting off the essay as long as possible and, since it was due on Monday, I didn't want to take any more chances.

Besides, working in an empty library was the best thing to keep my mind on track. So that's exactly what I did.

I could always tell when the quidditch matches were over. First, there was a dull far-off roar from the crowd that had been rooting for the winning team. Then, there was the thunder of footsteps as they scrambled to be the first out of the pitch, not wanting to be stuck in the tall staircase that led to the rickety wooden bleachers.

Finally, there was the pouring of students into the common rooms and library, as if a dam had ruptured and could not longer hold back the flow of individuals. They occupied previously empty tables, whispering as low as they could about the high points and low points of the game. Which, when you get a thousand of them, all of a sudden isn't that quiet after all.

"Did you see that goal Fabian Prewett made at the end of the game? That was fantastic. I've never seen such good chasing by him before!"

"Too bad Sirius Black wasn't playing; I would have liked to see him riding a broom this afternoon."

"Did you hear what James Potter said in the megaphone at the match ended? I thought Professor McGonagall was going to have his head on a platter."

I shook my head, trying my hardest to concentrate on the essay before me, but as more and more students poured into the library, surrounding themselves with friends, food, and homework, I could no longer keep my mind on the task at hand. I finally slammed my potions book shut, letting out a huff of frustration as a gaggle of fourth years began commenting on Sirius's joking and flirtatious manner at the match.

I was starting to get really tired of this guy.

"Oy! Brams!"

Speak of the devil. I groaned as I recognized the voice. I momentarily contemplated slamming my head repeatedly against the desk in hopes that it would scare them away, but I didn't have the guts to possibly injure my face for something so childish. Instead, I slapped on a smile that I was pretty sure looked more like a grimace and looked up to see Sirius Black sauntering toward me, closely followed by a dim-looking James Potter.

As soon as he reached my table, Sirius placed both hands on the edge, leaning toward me as he grinned. He cocked his head backward, gesturing toward the miserable James before speaking. "We seem to have a problem here. I thought you might be of some assistance."

I managed to not roll my eyes or let out a sigh as I kicked out the seat closest to me. Sirius sat down quickly, lacing his fingers together as he leaned forward, his gray eyes glistening with amusement. "It seems that my best mate here got himself into a bit of a tough spot…with a girl."

"Lily Evans is never going to date him," I said simply as I shoved my potions book into my bag, getting ready to swing it over my shoulder so I could leave. "He should give it up now before it gets too creepy. Actually I'm fairly certain it's at that point already."

Sirius grabbed my wrist as I made to stand up, looking up at me with pleading eyes. "Hear him out, will you? He's in a bad spot right now and, to be honest, you are the closest thing to a friend that's a girl that I have. Well, one that I can get advice from anyways."

I cocked an eyebrow. "We've had two, maybe three conversations since I'm feeling a bit generous today."

"I'm aware."

I sat in silence for a moment, seriously debating whether I should just get up and leave before I caught sight of James's face. The poor boy looked utterly miserable, his brown, sullen eyes were gazing at the floor. His shoulders dropped, his arms dangled at his side. I sighed, settling back into my seat as I motioned for James to sit on the other side of me.

Sirius sent a small smile at me as he mouthed a quick 'thank you.' I grimaced again, turning my attention toward the black haired boy that had just sat down on my right.

"I have to tell you James, that I'm really not that good with relationship-"

"I stole the megaphone from Professor McGonagall and shouted to the entire school how much I was in love with Lily Evans," James interrupted me in a rush, his eyes widening in disbelief as he said the words aloud. "And then I proceeded to ask her to the Hogsmeade trip in October, where she declined in front of the student population with a Bat-bogey hex to my face."

I shot an incredulous look at Sirius, who shrugged his shoulders innocently. Evidently I was on my own. I leaned forward, my curly blonde hair swung into my face as I patted James on the hand. "Speaking as a third party observer with no personal interest in the matter, I don't think that you and Lily- erm- mesh well together. I mean, I've told you this before."

Sirius and James's eyes both shot open, their brows crinkling in confusion as they first looked at each other and then looked back at me.

"You did?" James replied as he leaned back in his chair, his arms folded over his chest. "When was this? I don't remember."

I deflated in disbelief, glaring at both boys with narrow eyes. "You have got to be- last weekend, in the morning. Lily said that she would never date you even if you were the last living thing on earth, yadda, yadda, yadda."

James and Sirius continued to stare at me with blank faces before Sirius spoke up. "You're going to have to be more specific than that, love. That happens more often than not, I'm afraid to say." James nodded his head in agreement, shrugging one shoulder.

"You don't remem- oh, Merlin, am I really that invisible? Lily ran into me as she was trying to leave, knocked everything out of my bag, you bent down to help me clean it all up."

Realization dawned on James and, for a brief moment, I was relieved that he remembered. Not even a second later, his face fell into one of confusion once more as he said, "That was you?"

I raised my eyebrows in incredulity, my voice on the verge of becoming quite shrill. "What do you mean that was…of course it was…you know what?" I stood up this time, swinging my bag over my shoulder, not bothering to apologize as I whacked Sirius in the side of the head. "It's been a pleasure, really, but if you aren't going to accept my advice-"

"You haven't given any advice," Sirius pointed out as he rubbed the side of his head, but he quickly closed his mouth at the glower I sent his way.

"I was going to say," I managed to spit out through gritted teeth, closing my eyes in an attempt to stay calm. "That you need to leave Lily Evans alone. Just leave her alone. Don't talk to her, don't look at her, don't sit next to her, don't even glance her way. Actually, don't even bother thinking about her. That's the only way that you're going to get her attention, if you ever do." I paused, glaring down at the both of them. "Which I seriously doubt." I paused again, letting it sink in. "Good day, sirs."

With that, I turned on my toes and marched toward the exit of the library, ignoring the sniggering and laughter from the surrounding students that heard my rant. As I was about to cross the threshold of the two wooden doors, I couldn't help but hear James say, clear as day, "Hate to break it to you mate, but you were right. That is a good one to keep around."

I couldn't help the small smile that spread on my lips as I slowed my frantic march to a walk as soon as I entered the corridor.


	7. Chapter 7

**Here it is! Chapter 7! Thank you so much for being patient with me- I was on vacation! I have to say that the influx of awesome reviews and the number of readers who have liked this story or put it on their alerts has been very encouraging. I love seeing all of the great things you have to say about my writing and about Haley as a character.**

**I've said it many times, but I'll say it again- I HAVE THE BEST READERS!**

**Anyways, please, please, please keep those reviews coming. I absolutely love them, I read every single one!**

**Read and enjoy!**

Alice clicked her tongue against her teeth, shaking her head roughly as she set the Daily Prophet down onto the Gryffindor table. It had become a morning routine to scour the news articles, keeping up to date on the recent murders, tortures, and disappearances.

"How many?" Mary asked nonchalantly as she buttered her toast. I knew she was trying to be casual about the whole war, as many of us were. Though the murders and kidnappings were starting to hit close to home. Just last week the mother and father of Beatrice Fleming were found dead in their living rooms, doors locked from the inside.

The wizarding world knew it had been the work of this new Dark Lord, however his followers thought it was a good time to leave the muggle police in shambles.

"No adults this time," Alice simmered, taking a large gulp of her coffee. She made a choking noise as it burned the back of her throat. "All children. Seven attacked by werewolves, three of them killed. The other four will most likely turn at the next full moon."

I gasped in astonishment. "Werewolves? But I thought they couldn't turn unless it was a full moon?"

Alice and Mary both eyed each other before snorting in disbelief. "Last night WAS the full moon, Haley. Where have you been?" Mary threw in before getting up from the table and hitching her bag onto her shoulder.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm sorry, I'm not in Astronomy for my NEWT classes. That doesn't interest me whatsoever. I don't pay any attention to the moon cycles-"

"Aren't you lucky," a quiet voice next to me spoke up. I started, turning to look at the person who had spoken. The depths of Remus Lupin's cheeks tinted pink as he realized that I heard him. I didn't think the comment was meant for my ears.

"What he means to say," James butted in rather quickly, glancing at his friend with concerned eyes. "Is that everything always goes haywire during the full moon. Doesn't it?"

Remus nodded quickly, glancing back down at his plate of steak and eggs. I couldn't help but notice that a new cut sat just above his right eyebrow. It was deep and crusted with blood. A bruise or two littered his jaw line. To top it all off, he looked absolutely exhausted. I furrowed my brow in question, but he quickly covered the cut with the palm of his hand, playing it off smoothly as he rested his arm on the table.

I clenched my mouth tight together and turned awkwardly back to my oatmeal and fruit. It was obvious that I was missing something, but I certainly wasn't going to ask him then and there.

"Are you coming?"

I glanced up to see a beautiful brown haired girl clutch the left shoulder of Sirius Black. He smiled up at her before shaking his head.

"No, love, not now. Same time, same place tonight?"

She let off a cool smile, nodding her head as she surveyed the boy with her green eyes. "Can't wait," she whispered seductively into his ear before sauntering off, making sure to swing her hips as over exaggerated as she could make it. I resisted the urge to gag into my breakfast. Even Alice looked remotely disgusted.

"And you want him to help you with the list?" she said, quite loudly as she tossed her thumb in his direction, her eyebrows shot high on her forehead. "He's a walking STD-"

"I beg to differ, Hemingway," Sirius shot back, running his hand through his black hair, where it settled in the exact same place it had been a moment before. "My inherent interest in girls does not in any way, shape, or form hinder the work that I put into helping Miss Brams, here."

It was my turn for my eyebrows to shoot high onto my forehead. "Your work? You were the one trying to toss me into detention just last week!"

"It's on your list of things to accomplish," he replied, exasperated. We had this argument a few times in the past few days. He thought he was in the right for trying to get me in trouble. I thought he was very, very wrong. "I was only trying to help you-"

"You were trying to get me in trouble with Flitwick so you could sneak into the classroom and swap Snape's parrot with a poisonous toad!" I shot back, glaring at him playfully. He had finally admitted to his ulterior motive just a few days after the Charms incident.

He smirked, not even bothering to deny the accusation. "Either way, I would have signed for it."

I shook my head, a smile crawling traitorously onto my face as I stood up. "I have to get to potions. I will find you during our morning break, Alice." Sirius made to stand up, but I pointed at him and gestured rather rudely for him to sit back down. "I've had enough of you for the day. Next you'll try to hex Bertram Aubrey again and blame it on me."

Sirius didn't sit down, but instead followed me out of the Great Hall, a slight smile on his face. I could almost feel the intense glares from the other female students in the school wishing they were in my shoes right now. Too bad he was an arrogant jerk, he was rather attractive.

"Hey now, he deserved it," Sirius went on, pushing past a couple third years without even bothering to apologize. I yelled a quick 'sorry!' over my shoulder before we turned the corner and jogged down the stairs to the dungeons. "He deserved to get his head blown up to twice the normal size. He was trying to-"

"I don't even want to hear about it," I replied, holding up my hand as I leaned back against the stone wall, allowing the cool rock to touch the back of my neck. Sirius faced me, leaning his left side against the wall as he smirked down at me.

"What?" I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Don't you have some shenanigans to get into?"

"Shenanigans?" He let out a bark of laughter, throwing his head back as if he was surprised to hear the word. "How old are you? Who under the age of fifty says the word-"

"Haley!"

Sirius was effectively cut off by Lily Evans, who was hurrying toward me just as Slughorn opened the dungeon door. She grabbed onto my arm and pulled me into the room. I threw a helpless glanced toward Sirius, who just shrugged in amazement.

"Sit with me today, okay?" Lily said, fixing her thick hair into a ponytail at the back of her head. The red locks fell gloriously down her back, shimmering against the dim light of the classroom. I agreed, hesitantly placing my book bag on the floor next to the table she had picked out for us. Slughorn began announcing the potion for the day, a dreadfully hard one called a Befuddlement Draught. I could never, for the life of me, understand why they would want to teach this potion to seventeen year old students.

Let alone James Potter and Sirius Black, who had not so secretly high fived each other over their cauldrons.

As Slughorn dismissed the class, we all began making our way toward the ingredients cupboard. I began to stand up, but Lily quickly shooed me back down.

"No, don't worry. I'll go get it," she said with a dazzling smile before she whipped around and pushed herself to the front of the line. I settled back into the seat, awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact with Severus Snape, who had taken the bench next to ours in an attempt to sidle closer to Lily.

Lily hobbled back over, her arms filled with ingredients to the point of almost throwing her off balance. She grinned at me as she dumped the scurvy grass, lovage, and sneezewort onto the table between us. I grabbed my wand from my bag, tapping the burner underneath my cauldron a few times to get the water to start boiling.

Squinting toward the board, I read that the water needed to be at the peak temperature for at least twenty minutes before I could add in the lovage, a rather bushy plant that created inflammation of the brain. I collapsed into my seat, grabbing my potion's book and settled in for some light reading while I waited for the water to boil.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Lily fumbling with the knife as she tried to squeeze the juice from the sneezewort. She evidently had something on her mind, as Lily was easily the best in our class at Potions (aside from Snape) and she usually didn't have problems with ingredients.

I narrowed my eyes, scanning the room. Dorcas Meadows was seated on the opposite side at a bench with a Ravenclaw named Greta Catchlove, where I usually sat. Just as I had suspected.

I turned my attention back toward Lily, who was now nervously chopping the scurvy grass into one inch strands.

"Lily?" I asked innocently as I stowed my potion's book safely into my bag before standing up and grabbing a handful of the sneezewort. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Yes," she said rather quickly and shrilly as she glanced over to me. "Yes, everything is perfectly fine. I am perfectly fine. Everything is- oh no!" She accidently dropped the knife into the boiling cauldron that sat in front of her. She peered into it, putting her hands over her cheeks in frustration.

I grabbed my wand and fished out the knife, which was now a mangled, metal mess. I set it roughly onto the table between us, making sure to keep it clear of any ingredients so it wouldn't ruin both of our potions. Lily quickly cleared the old potion and started again. I blew out my cheeks, turning back to my own cauldron and threw in the 3 lovage leaves before stirring it counter clockwise twenty three times.

"It's just-" She started, pointing her wand toward the underside of the cauldron, boiling the water once again. "It's just that James has been acting really strange lately."

I sighed inwardly, not knowing why everyone had been seeking my advice lately. "I-erm- Lily," I started to say, but she quickly cut me off.

"I know, this is very unorthodox and incredibly frank, to be honest with you." She paused, seemingly having an internal debate with herself. "But James has been acting very strange lately, you know- ignoring me, refusing to talk to me, not even looking at me, and I was wondering if you knew why."

I furrowed my brow, drawing back my head to get a better look at her. "What makes you think that I would know the answer to that?"

She shifted uncomfortably on her feet, staring at me with wide, guilt-ridden eyes. "I overheard you and Alice talking about how you were getting closer to Sirius these past couple weeks and I figured that if you were getting closer to Sirius that-"

"That I would be getting closer to James," I finished for her. I hunched my shoulders over the cauldron, dropping in the three sprigs of scurvygrass before stirring the wooden spoon clockwise eighty-four times. I counted in my head, racking my brain for a response to Lily's confession.

"Haley?" she said quietly, biting her lip. "Haley, are you upset? I know, it was a really selfish thing to do- asking you to sit with me. It really wasn't just for that reason-" She stopped herself, realizing that she was entering into dangerous territory. "Haley?"

I turned my head to look at her, a small humorless smile on my face. "No, no I'm not upset, Lily." Lie. "I don't know anything about why James is acting the way he is." Another lie. "Sirius and I aren't close, we aren't even really friends." Well, that one wasn't so much a lie. We really weren't friends, though I had talked to him more the past few weeks than I had the last six years I had been in school with him.

Lily smiled widely at my words and thanked me profusely for not being mad at her. That she knew of. Inside, I was seething. There was no rationality for it. I had no reason to be that irate with her. All I knew was, at that moment, I needed to get out of there.

I took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. I calmly muttered "_scourgify" _before tucking my wand into the confines of my bag. I quickly glanced over to Slughorn, who was raving about the ingeniousness of Dorcas Meadows' potion. Perfect timing.

I swung my book bag over my shoulder and quietly walked toward the exit.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked, her tone laced with worry. "Haley, your potion was looking so great! Why aren't you staying?"

I didn't say anything as I walked past her, keeping my eyes trained on the thick, wooden door. To my right, Tilden Toots nearly blew up his potion by adding the incorrect amount of lovage leaves. I ducked in time, avoiding the cloud of smoke and flames by a fraction of a centimeter.

"Haley?" I heard Lily call louder as she reached out to grab a hold of my wrist. "Haley, what's going on?"

I ripped my wrist from her grasp, spinning on my heel to send her the nastiest glare I could muster. "I am not a carpet that can be thrown around and stepped on," I hissed through clenched teeth, my eyes glistening with unshed tears, "I am better than being treated like a doormat and so is James Potter. He is kind and funny and unselfish. And you don't deserve him."

Lily pulled back from me immediately, hurt stinging across her eyes. I instantly felt sick to my stomach. I had never meant for those words to spring from my mouth, but there was no taking them back now. I turned on my heels, trying to muster up all the pride and dignity I had left, and stormed through the crowd of bags, cauldrons, and smoke toward the back of the classroom.

"Miss Brams?" I heard Slughorn call over the dimly lit room. I was surprised he could even see me through the fumes erupting from cauldrons all over the room. I didn't bother to turn around as he continued to call my name. I knew that if I let on that I could hear him, I would turn around that moment and start the potion over again.

A chair hurriedly scrapped against the stone floor just as I pushed the door open. I slammed it shut, the tears still threatening to fall from my eyes as I crossed my arms self-consciously over my chest and continued my trek down the empty, cool hallway.

The door squeaked open behind me before hastily shutting again. The person jogged behind me to catch up. "Oy! Haley, wait up a moment!"

I furrowed my brow, turning to look at my follower with a look of perplexity. "James? What are you doing out here? Won't you get in trouble?"

James Potter slowed his jog to a walk as he took a few steps toward me, awkwardly shoving his hands into his pants' pockets. "Eh, what's one more detention when I already have a tab of them I still have to serve from fifth year?" He chuckled, mostly to himself, as I crossed my arms tighter across my chest. He took another step forward. "I just wanted to see if you were alright. You ran out in a hurry and all…"

I shrugged my shoulders, training my eyes on the stone floor as I kicked at a small ledge that was produced from one stone being higher on the floor than the other. "No, I mean yes, I mean-" I paused, taking a deep breath as I squinted into the nearest candle that lit the dungeon hallway. "I don't know, honestly." I tore my gaze away from the floor and awkwardly made eye contact with him. "Did you hear everything?"

He nodded his head slowly. "I'm sure everyone did."

I blew out my cheeks, slowly letting out the breath I had been holding it. "Great, just wonderful, just-"

"I thought it was really cool of you," he interrupted me, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets. "I mean, for you to stand up for me like that." He shifted on his feet, smiling down at me. "It was really kind of you. I just wanted to say thanks."

"Oh," I said, my eyebrows flying north on my forehead as I stuttered to find the right words. "Oh, erm- you're, uhh, you're welcome. I guess."

His smile grew into a wide grin as he took a few steps backward, heading back toward the classroom he had just exited from. "And you're sure you're okay? Do you want to come back into class?"

I shook my head. "No, I think I'll just head to the library, thanks."

"Alright." He shrugged. "If you need someone to talk to about, well you know." He paused to point at himself with both his thumbs. "I'm your guy."

With that, James Potter ducked back into the potion's classroom, leaving me more lighthearted than I had felt since the beginning of the lesson.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8! So sorry I haven't been on an uploading schedule lately! I just started back up with school and, well…if you're in college you will definitely understand! I do have quite a few chapters written ahead of time, so don't worry! I haven't forgotten about you!**

**The reviews, as always, have been awesome! Keep it up, I love reading them.**

**Read and enjoy!**

Things between me and Lily had been more awkward than not the days following my temper tantrum on her. I was incredibly embarrassed, though Mary and Alice both said that I seemed to be in the right telling her that, and I therefore channeled the majority of my energy into avoiding Lily like the plague. If she came into the dormitory, I scooted right on out. If she came into the common room, I fled to the dormitory. When she came into class, I would shrink in my seat and hope that she wouldn't come over and turn my eyes into kumquats or something as equally dreadful.

Much to my good fortune, though, she seemed to be doing the same thing around me. I saw her cheeks blushing a dull pink more than once when I caught her eye and I had even saw her cheeks blush a furious red whenever James talked to her, which he had been doing less of and less of leading into October.

To my amazement, I realized how much I actually liked James. He stuck pretty close to Sirius's side, who, for some God awful reason, decided that I was worth spending all his spare "James free" time with. And with Sirius, comes James. Those two were more inseparable than I originally thought.

And I missed being alone more than I originally thought I would.

They pranked together, ate together, studied together, bothered me together. I would be very surprised if they didn't go on dates together…well, not with each other, but you know what I mean. They played quidditch together. Anyways, James was an incredibly decent guy (and I was very grateful, considering that's what I had told Lily in front of the entire seventh year NEWT potions students). He really was unselfish, kind, and funny.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was right. Lily really didn't deserve a guy like James. He threw himself at her feet for the last six years and she did nothing, but make fun of him and curse him.

Granted, back in third year I would have cursed him too. He was a right prick third year.

Not that I would mention any of that to her, because that would just fuel the fire…make my situation even worse. I was definitely not up for doing that.

I sat at the Gryffindor table on the first Friday of October, spooning gravy onto my mashed potatoes as Sirius and James hurried into the Great Hall, falling into place a few seats down from me. Remus snapped his head up, narrowing his eyes at his two best friends. Peter was shaking with excitement. I swear he was on the border of wetting his pants.

"Alice, I need you to switch places with me," Sirius muttered into my best friend's ear. She stared at him for a moment, obviously wondering what was going on in that head of his. "It's very important business." He reached into his pocket and flashed something. Before I could even glance around her to see what it was, he had already tucked it safely away once again.

She threw down her fork and got up, swinging her bag over her shoulder.

"I didn't mean get up and leave. I'm pretty sure you're going to want to stick around for this one," Sirius said rather apologetically as she took a few steps back, her eyes wide with uncertainty.

"No, no, I'm pretty sure I won't want to stick around for this one. Especially if that gets in my stuff," she said quickly. Sirius took the opportunity to scoot closer to me. As I got up to follow Alice to the common room, he wrapped a hand around my arm and pulled me down onto the bench. I nearly fell off backward, but was luckily stopped by Bertram Aubrey, who happened to be passing behind me at the time.

I waved in sincere apology, as I accidently shoved him into a group of third year Ravenclaws and he had planted his hand into a bowl of hot potatoes in order to keep his balance. I turned around awkwardly, ignoring the hooting and hollering that came from Sirius and James.

"Are you ready to check another one off your list?" Sirius finally muttered as he continued to scoot uncomfortably close to me. I eyed him with indecision for a moment, raking my gaze over his handsome figures that were still coming too close for comfort.

"Erm," I said, putting a hand on his chest, pushing him back a little ways, "I hope that your idea of checking another one off my list was not the kissing one. I'd rather not do that here, thank you very much."

He grinned lazily at me, leaning back in his seat. "So you would like to do it? Just somewhere else? I could have that arranged."

My face heated up and I was fairly certain that I had turned bright red. "Erm, no. That is definitely not that I meant."

James let out a shout of laughter, clapping his best friend on the back. "That is the first time I've ever heard someone turn you down, Padfoot. One for the calendar that's for-"

"Okay," Sirius scoffed, "Enough, Prongs. And, no, kissing is not in the agenda for this particular check off, however if you really-" He paused as he took a look at the expression on my face. "I'll take that as a no then. No, what you're really going to work with is…drumroll please…that."

If something was supposed to happen, I certainly missed it. I gazed at the four boys, who were all looking at me with amused and excited smiles. Clearly all the Gryffindor boys had been in on it, Remus included, though he tried his very best to appear uninterested, despite the fact that he kept peeking over the top of his book to watch the scene fold out in front of him.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What exactly am I supposed to be working with here?"

Sirius's and James's smiles both dropped off at my words. Remus let out a snort of laughter, another indication that he wasn't reading as into his book as he was letting on. Peter wasn't quite sure what to do, so he sat back and flicked his eyes between us as if he were watching a very intense quidditch match.

"Just look down, Brams," Sirius sighed as he moved his gaze toward my lap, "You're ruining the whole effect."

I dropped my eyes to my lap, surprised to see a pile of dirty brown balls seated on my legs. I immediately crinkled my nose, returning my gawk to the gray eyes of Sirius Black. "Dung bombs? Really? What do those have anything to do with my- hey! Where did you get that?"

Sirius had pulled out my list of things to accomplish, dramatically unfolding it and smoothing it out on the house table. As he took his time, I warily glanced at the dungbombs, hoping they wouldn't go off in my lap. "Right here, number 29," he finally said, dropping his index finger directly onto the parchment, "See? Drop a pack of dung bombs in a busy hallway during a busy time."

"That doesn't explain how you got the list from me," I replied hotly, crossing my arms over my chest.

He shrugged, folding up the parchment and stowing it into his robe pocket. "Nicked it from you in Charms this morning, no big deal." He paused, throwing me a wide grin. I didn't return the gesture. "Anyways, it's not exactly a hallway, but we've got the Great Hall, we have the busy time, and we have the pack of- where are the dung bombs?"

I looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes. "I dropped them. I thought that's what you were supposed to do with them."

"You dropped them," he repeated incredulously, "Dropped them where exactly?"

I gestured toward the floor beneath us, where a very foul odor had started to creep up from the stones. James appeared to be having a very hard time keeping a straight face.

"You aren't supposed to- you're supposed to wait-" He shook his head, rubbing his forehead with the palms of his hands. "You know, Brams, for someone so smart, you are incredibly dumb."

"I disagree!" I responded with a shrill voice, though I wasn't sure if that was because of the backhanded insult or because the smell that was emitting from these dung bombs was slowly starting to strangle my vocal cords. "Those are the directions on the packet. You drop them and they-"

"Why would you drop them around us?" Sirius retorted, his eyes tearing up from the stench. I could have sworn that they crossed for a second or too. I knew mine were on the verge of doing just that. "You're supposed to toss them into a crowd and run so you don't get saturated with the-"

He was effectively cut off by a loud squeal from the pack of fifth year girls that sat to our right. They had their robes clenched tightly around their noses and mouths as they hurriedly packed their things, abandoning their dinners entirely.

"Those damn Slytherins!" a sixth year boy shouted a few seats down from us, "Always dropping those damn bombs during dinner. Can't they find a more convenient time?"

A couple of his friends roared with agreement, standing up from the table to follow a group of future death eaters from the hall. I held up my hand to stop them, starting to say "Actually it wasn't them, it was-", but Sirius had already clasped a hand tightly around my mouth.

"Just let it go, Brams, just let it go. Actually, let's just go. You really did a number on the Hall. I can't believe you dumped all six off your lap."

As the unpleasant smell began to spread, it was harder and harder to stick around the spot of stench origin. I choked a bit, wondering why in the world anyone would decide to manufacture those in the first place. They had probably been dropped in the warehouse quite a few times. I could only imagine the smell of a few boxes of dungbombs breaking if the smell of just a couple individual ones was so awful.

Sirius steered me toward the exit, followed closely by James, Peter, and Remus who were choking, hopefully more with the odor than with laughter. As we walked out, more and more Gryffindors and Ravenclaws could be heard plotting their revenge on the Slytherins, most having thought that only an individual from that particular house would do something so incredibly irritating during a meal.

"Wow Brams, nice going," James commented, genuinely impressed. He pursed his lips, nodding quite a few times before turning to glance at me. "The first time you've ever dropped dungbombs and you've managed to set both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw into revenge mode against Slytherin for absolutely no reason. You're a genius!"

"It was an accident!" I said, exasperated, throwing my hands out to the side as the five of us made our way up the Grand Staircase. "I didn't mean to, I swear I didn't-"

"Either way," Sirius interrupted, a massive grin on his handsome face, "I wasn't going to sign you off on it, because it doesn't count when you just roll them off your lap, but in the current circumstances…" He handed me the folded up parchment, winking at me.

I snatched it from his hand, rolling my eyes as I muttered a quick "thanks."

Though, I have to admit, I didn't feel too bad when Lily took the revenge planning as an opportunity to hex Severus Snape, who had been following her around once again.

….

It had been a few days since the dungbomb incident (luckily only a few Slytherins ended up being hexed, but I had a nasty feeling that Sirius and James were behind it more than anyone else) when I was seated in the library with quite a few pages of notes scattered around the table.

Mary was off practicing quidditch, which she often did in her spare time, and Alice was writing a letter to her boyfriend back in London, so I took that as an opportunity to catch up on some homework. My dream was to become a lawyer for the Ministry of Magic and, for that, top grades were required.

Nothing below an 'E' in any NEWT subjects.

I crinkled my brow, scribbling over a few different translations that I had accidently reversed. Ancient Runes was going to be the death of me if I didn't put some extra time in. Though Mary was always teasing me, because of the work load I took on after I passed my OWL exams.

At the time, I figured it wouldn't matter since all I did was study, but now I slightly regretted it. I wanted to be out with my friends- attending Hogsmeade trips, going to quidditch games, playing Exploding Snap in the common room late into the night.

It was my seventh year after all and, fortunately and unfortunately, Sirius Black was keeping me busy.

I snapped my head up at the sound of a few books hitting the stone floor with a quick succession of smacks. My heart racing at the noise, I glanced around to see Peter Pettigrew fumbling quite close to me, his face a dull pink. It wasn't like Peter to be off by himself, as he was usually trailing the other three boys, but I just shook my head and went back to my notes.

Out of the corner of my eye, though, I noticed that he was slowly creeping closer to me.

At first I thought he was just trying to find a library book. I then realized that he was jumping subjects way too fast to actually be looking for a book. It occurred to me that, after all the time I had spent in the library over the past six years, I had never actually seen Peter in the library before.

I glanced over to him once again and he quickly turned away, the tips of his ears an alarmingly bright shade of red. I sighed, putting down my quill before turning in my seat to look over at him.

"Peter, is there something that you needed from me?" I asked kindly, as I really did feel bad for the boy. He was shorter and chubbier than his friends. They usually used him as the butt of a joke rather than including him in with it. I had a feeling that he really stuck around because, after six years, he hadn't really made friends elsewhere.

"I, erm, I," he managed to stumble out at first. He took a deep breath, pulling out the wooden seat next to me rather nosily before falling into it. He wiped the sweat of his brow with the back of his hand, which I found quite disgusting, but I decided against saying anything. "Iwaswonderingifyouwantedtogo toHogsmeadewithme."

I froze. He was obviously talking too fast…he couldn't have, he wouldn't have. "I'm sorry, but could you repeat that one more time," I asked politely, "and maybe slow it down a bit."

He took a deep breath, blowing out his cheeks slowly. "I was erm…wondering if you…erm…wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend."

He did. He actually asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him. What was I going to say? Obviously I wanted to say no. The first time I go on a date to Hogsmeade and it's with Peter Pettigrew? I mean, I had never been on a date before, but I thought I was much more attractive than that. No offense to him or anything.

On the other hand, I felt bad for saying no. It probably took some courage for him to come and ask me. I would feel like a complete berk for declining his invitation. Maybe I would just- wait a second….

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw some movement yet again and, since he was seated next to me at the table, I knew it wasn't Peter. A flash of black shaggy hair disappeared around one of the aisles along with a large amount of chuckling. I narrowed my eyes, shifting my gaze back to Peter, who gulped under my glare.

"You aren't asking me because you want to, are you?" I asked in a demanding voice, placing my elbow on the table as I pointed accusingly over to him. "Someone put you up to it, didn't they?"

"I-erm- I, no I-erm- I wanted to-"

"Peter."

He threw his hands into the air. Evidently even he knew how bad of a liar he actually was. "Okay, Sirius put me up to it. I didn't want to ask you, he forced me, I'm sorry!"

I sat back in my seat, huffing in frustration. The first time anyone asked me and it was Peter Pettigrew, except that he didn't even WANT to ask me. Sirius Black made him do it. I let that sink in for a moment. Even Peter Pettigrew didn't want to go to Hogsmeade with me. What, exactly, was wrong with me?

I ran my hands subconsciously through my hair, slicking my tongue over my front teeth to make sure there wasn't something stuck in there from lunch earlier that day.

I excused myself from the table, scrapping the wooden legs against the stone floor as I stormed over the aisle where I had seen Sirius disappear into. Luckily, he seemed to not be paying any attention to the scene unfolding near him, as he probably assumed that I wouldn't figure it out so quickly.

Or that Peter wouldn't have given it away so quickly.

"Really, Sirius Black?" I crossed my arms tightly over my chest as I tapped my foot impatiently against the floor. "Making Peter Pettigrew ask me to Hogsmeade? That's really low-"

He scrunched his face, snapping his fingers in response. "Damn, he told you didn't he?" When I didn't say anything, he forged on. "I thought Peter was a bad choice to begin with, but James insisted that you couldn't say no, because you're too nice of a person. Anyways, moving on, what about Remus? I know he doesn't have anyone to go with-"

"What is this about, Sirius? Why are you forcing boys on me?"

He shook his head before taking the thick parchment out of his back pocket. I decided to let it slide that time, as I had recently given up trying to figure out how he kept nicking it from me without my knowledge. He wheeled around, pointing to the sixth thing on the checklist.

"Right here, you need a date to Hogsmeade and I just figured that-"

"You would have to set it up for me, because no one else is going to ask me on their own accord?" I finished for him, my eyebrows shooting dangerously high on my forehead.

He gawked at me for a moment before quickly recovering. "No! It's not that, it's just…okay, it's that," he finished, with a quick nod of his head. "We only have three Hogsmeade trips left in our school career and, no offense, but you don't have any other male friends, let alone possible dates."

I was, at first, offended by his words. I was pretty…I guess. I had a nice personality…says my mother. So I had a nice body from all the dance classes I took outside of school, but that was all I had going for me. I realized that he was, in fact, quite right about the whole ordeal. I had as much of a chance getting asked to Hogsmeade as the giant squid did.

And that was because of all the times I had spent studying instead of worrying about my social life. It was yet another kick in the pants when I realized how far behind I actually was.

Of course, I couldn't let him know that.

I narrowed my eyes at him, tilting my nose into the air as I continued my glare. "You know, Sirius Black, I could get a date just fine without your help."

He managed to stifle a snort as he leaned against the bookshelf, eyeing me with amusement. "Oh really, Brams? You think so?"

"Yes, I do. Probably not as quickly as you, as I haven't had my tongue shoved down the throat of half the female population-"

"Hey!" he interjected, "I beg to differ! I haven't snogged any Slytherin girls, thank you very much."

"But I could still hold my own in getting a date. I just need to get out there more," I concluded with a curt nod of my head. I decided to ignore his interruption. I still didn't find it fair that he could hook up with so many girls and other girls still wanted to be next on his list.

And he wasn't just snogging them, let me tell you.

"So that's it?" he responded, a grin playing on his lips, "you are saying that you could get a date to the Hogsmeade trip. On your own. For this weekend."

"Y-yes," I replied hesitantly, my word not quite matching the tone of confidence.

His lips finally split into a wide grin, his stormy gray eyes danced with laughter. "Fine, in that case Brams, you can find a date all your own. However, I won't sign off on it if you don't find a date for this trip."

I shrugged. "I'll just get Alice or Mary to sign for it then."

He fingered the parchment, holding it in the air for me to see. "But you don't have the list."

Damn. I really did hate that kid.


	9. Chapter 9

**I know, I'm awful. I'm so, so, so, so sorry! Please forgive me for my lack of updating lately. It SHOULD be getting better from this point on. I had a pass/fail exam last week that I was cramming for and I (literally) hadn't even turned my computer on during that time, because I was studying so much. But, alas, here it is…chapter 9!**

**I really thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your reviews and adding me to your favorites. It makes me feel so awesome that you guys have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it! **

**Please keep the reviews coming and, of course, read and enjoy!**

The Hogsmeade trip came up quicker than I would have liked and, of course, I didn't end up with a date. Sirius was rather pleased with the fact that he won our little bet, though he was kind enough to repeal what he said about not signing off on the checklist unless it was a date for this specific trip.

I had a feeling that it had something to do with the fact that I was hopeless at talking to boys, let alone flirting with them, and he felt somewhat sorry for me. I really did try to find a date to Hogsmeade, even going out of my way to talk up Thomas Acker, a seventh year Hufflepuff in my NEWT Ancient Runes class.

The problem was that every time the upcoming Hogsmeade trip was mentioned, I changed the subject faster than you could say Hogsmeade, much to the chagrin of Sirius Black.

So on the morning of the first weekend of November trip, I rolled out of bed around the same time as Mary and Alice, carefully pretending to be asleep until Lily left the dormitory, before taking a quick shower and throwing on a pair of jeans, a gray sweater, and a pair of well-worn sneakers.

I jogged down the stairs, pushing aside the poster that Peter Pettigrew and James Potter had hung in the common room announcing the upcoming birthday of their best friend, Sirius. November 6th- the day after tomorrow.

"It'll be a good party to go to, I'm sure," Alice commented as we exited the common room and into the hallway. I took a moment to zip my jacket and don a pair of gloves, not wanting my hands to nearly contract frostbite like they almost did the winter before. "Sirius is turning eighteen this year. You should go, Haley, get it checked off on your list."

Mary nodded her head, choosing not to voice her opinion since she was still chewing on a piece of toast that she had taken from the Great Hall while I was getting ready for the trip.

I shrugged my shoulders, turning the corner toward the Grand Staircase. "Maybe I'll go, maybe I won't. Really depends on how much homework I'm able to get done during the week-"

"Oh come on, Haley," Mary whined, finally swallowing the toast, "It's your seventh year. Let loose a bit. I thought that was the point of the whole of your checklist."

I didn't have any reply to that, since she was right, so I decided not to say anything as we joined the line waiting for Filch, the newest caretaker, to check us all out of the castle. A few people ahead of us, James Potter and Remus Lupin were in a deep discussion, consulting a rather ragged piece of parchment while Peter Pettigrew looked onward, evidently keeping a close watch on the surroundings.

Sirius, who had undoubtedly found a date or two perhaps, was near the front of the line. Accompanied by a rather busty brunette, a sixth year from Ravenclaw, Sirius was getting thoroughly examined by Filch, who was eyeing him with both apprehension and mistrust.

I couldn't blame Filch one bit. It was only the week before when Sirius and James "accidently" transfigured his fingers into eating utensils. How they managed that one, I have no idea.

Lily and Dorcas were in line just after James and Remus. I was surprised, to say the least, that she had gotten so close to James by her own accord and that a fight hadn't started yet. But the day was still young. My jaw was nearly on the floor when she tapped James on the shoulder, attempting to engage him in a casual conversation, but he merely shrugged her off, turning back to the parchment with much more gusto than I would have anticipated.

The funny thing was- Lily seemed slightly put off.

I turned to Alice, who was biting her fingernails out of boredom, with a look of confusion plastered on my face.

"James is ignoring Lily now? When did this happen exactly?"

Alice shrugged her shoulders, ripping off a piece of her nail with a sickening snap. I inwardly cringed, not having ever gotten used to her bad habit, despite having lived with her for the past six years. "It's been happening for the past few days. He just stopped talking to her, then he stopped looking at her, then he stopped associating with her whatsoever. She's been trying to sidle up to him since Monday."

I pursed my lips, furrowing my brow into a look of interest. "I wonder why that happened."

Mary snorted, rolling her eyes playfully. "Don't act like you don't know."

My eyebrows shot up as we took a few steps forward. Out of the corner of my eye, James and Remus were being poked and prodded by the dark object detector Filch was handling. From the winces James was emitting, I could only assume that Filch was digging harder into his ribs than absolutely necessary, despite the fact that he was Head Boy.

"Are we patrolling tonight, James?" Lily asked politely, trying to catch him before he started to make his way toward the trail that led to the village. He turned to look over his shoulder, sending her a quick shrug.

"Erm, I'm actually patrolling with Remus tonight, sorry Lily." With that, he stuck his hands in his pockets and continued on his way, leaving Lily in a heap of confusion.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said quietly as Lily and Dorcas were allowed through the front doors, with minimal poking and prodding done by the caretaker. "Those two never tell me anything personal-"

Alice and Mary both chuckled, shaking their heads in exasperation. "No!" Alice said, turning to grin at me, "You know, because you did it!"

I racked my brain, trying to think back to the moment I had become a home-wrecking, dream-slaying idiot. "Okay, I definitely haven't drank anything yet, considering I have a pretty good memory of what's been happening since the beginning of the school year," I said slowly, still trying to pull up the memory of my James/Lily sabotage, "And I know that I haven't snogged James nor Lily-"

Mary let out a trill of laughter as Alice stepped forward, letting Filch scan her with the detector. "You are so ridiculous, Haley. She's talking about the day in potions when you completely tore into Lily about how she didn't deserve James! Ever since then, James has been paying no attention to her. Seems like you've really done a number on him, since it seems that he's listening to you…" She trailed off as she stepped forward, holding out her hands so Filch could run the probe over her jacket.

"He's not listening to me!" I laughed, taking my turn in line by holding out my arms. "I mean, he may be, I did have a chat with him in the library one day, but-"

"You what?" Alice and Mary screeched in unison, the three of us stepping through the front doors and into the cold, November air. I tightened the jacket around my chest, tucking my gloved hands into the pockets to ensure they wouldn't get cold this time around.

The wind whipped around the castle, loosening my curly hair from the messy bun at the base of my neck. A few locks wrapped around my face. I tried to turn toward the wind so my hair would naturally fall back into place, but the locks were stuck to my damp lips, forcing me to extract a hand from my jacket and physically tuck the hair back into the ponytail holder.

"It was more word vomit than anything!" I defended myself, shrugging my shoulders closer to my ears against the bitter cold. "I didn't mean to say it-"

"Didn't mean to say what exactly?"

We pushed onward quite a few feet, the dead leaves that had fallen from the trees circled around our feet, dancing in the swift wind. The gravel pathway crackled beneath our shoes as we neared the village. I could see, even from a distance, that The Three Broomsticks was already jam packed with people.

"I kind of told James that he needed to leave Lily alone," I shuffled guiltily under their piercing looks, "Listen, Sirius dragged James up to me in the library while I was studying- the boy announced his love for Lily over the megaphone after the quidditch match! How could I deny him any advice?"

Alice cracked a smile, tugging her hat tighter onto her head. "So your advice was for him to leave her alone? For someone who has never had their first boyfriend-"

"Let alone their first kiss," Mary interjected, throwing out her hands in disbelief. My chuckle was lost to the fierce winds that rang through our ears.

"-You are oddly astute to the happenings of a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship," Alice finished, nodding her head curtly. "Would that have something to do with all the time you're spending with Sirius? Someone finally have a crush on a boy?" She nudged me playfully in the ribs, causing me to fall off the trail a bit.

I let out a shriek of laughter. "No, definitely not." I paused to point toward the crowded pub. My two best friends nodded briskly in agreement. I rushed over and pulled open the heavy wooden door, ushering them inside before shutting it tightly behind me. "He is way too much of a womanizer for me," I nearly shouted to them over the noise that emitted from all directions in the small bar. "Besides, we never talk about anything like that. Our relationship is purely business. Think about it as remedial potions. We meet after classes, he teaches me about having a social life, we break some rules, we go our separate ways."

Alie laughed as Mary peeled off, snagging the opportunity to place a drink order with the newest barmaid, Rosmerta, who had just graduated from Hogwarts a mere three years ago. Rosmerta's messy curls were piled onto her head in an effort to keep them off her face as she worked; her brown dress was ragged and stained with all the food and drinks she made in a day's time. She smiled brightly at Mary, slamming three butterbeers onto the wooden counter.

Alice and I grabbed a high table, settling ourselves in just as the rush of students flew through the door like a stampede of wild hippogriffs. I sat back in my seat and watched, taking small sips of my warm drink in an effort to savor the sweet flavor.

"So you have to know something," Mary went on, obviously not done with the conversation from earlier, "and don't skimp on the details…but why exactly did Sirius decide to leave home? I mean, he comes from an incredibly rich, influential family-"

I furrowed my brow, glancing at her with an expression of utmost confusion. "What on earth are you talking about? Sirius left home?"

Mary goggled at me in disbelief. "You spend almost as much time with him as James Potter does and you didn't know that? Merlin, Haley, where the hell have you been these past few months. Even Alice over here knew that-"

"I knew what?" Alice interjected, pushing herself into the conversation.

"That Sirius Black left home and stayed with the Potter's all summer."

Alice took a swig of her butterbeer, shrugging her shoulders casually before answering. "Yeah, everyone knew that. Don't know how, considering he never talks about it, but rumor has it that he was disinherited and everything. I overheard Regulus talking about in the hallway with Mulciber between classes just last week."

I glanced around the pub, the usual sight of the four Marauders together catching my eye. James and Sirius were taking turns slinging charms at each other, much to the delight of the surrounding fourth year girls and Peter Pettigrew. James laughed aloud as Sirius transfigured his eyebrows into two carrots.

It surprised me more than anything else. The news, I mean. I never knew that he had run away from home. If I ran away from home, I know that I wouldn't be as happy go lucky as he is on a daily basis. I wouldn't be pulling pranks and laughing and having fun with my friends.

I would probably be curled up in the fetal position in a corner somewhere crying my eyes out, but that's just me. Even though my twin brother and I are usually bickering over something, I couldn't imagine him being out of my life.

Which got me thinking…it must have been considerably awkward for Sirius, since his brother was also attending Hogwarts. Granted, he was a sixth year Slytherin, but that didn't mean Sirius didn't see him around. As a matter of fact, I had never really seen Sirius talk to his brother at all over the last couple of months.

Usually they would have a quick chat in the Great Hall between meals or even a wave as they passed each other in the halls, but since the beginning of seventh year, Sirius and Regulus Black were set in keeping their distance from each other.

It must have been a terribly awful family feud.

"Haley? Haaaaaaley?" Alice sang as she snapped her fingers in front of my face. I quickly shook my head, turning my attention back to her. "Are you here, Haley? You seem to have lost yourself for a moment."

I smiled softly, taking another swig of my butterbeer. "I'm fine, just thinking, that's all."

After we finished our butterbeers, we made our way out of the heavily crowded pub and into the street, where flecks of snow were starting to fall from the clouded sky. They pecked at my face, stinging slightly as the wind hadn't quite died down yet. I pulled the hood of my jacket tighter onto my head as we made our way toward the Shrieking Shack, a tiny hut on the outskirts of the village. Rumor has it that a pair of particularly nasty ghouls lives in there, emitting screams and howls every so often.

I had personally never heard them. The Shrieking Shack gave me the creeps, but I sucked it up and followed Mary and Alice up the trail anyways, since it had been tradition for us to view the shack every trip since our third year of school.

"Just as eerie as I remember," Alice said as she placed her hands on the wooden fence that surrounded the shack. I stared over at it, a grimace on my face, as I half expected a ghoul face to pop up in one of the windows. "Not as big as I thought it was back in the third year."

Mary let out a squeak of agreement. Though a very brave quidditch player, Mary was never one for haunted houses, scary movies, or anything like that. She hated being frightened and usually heavily protested visiting the Shack, though she did so anyways.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

The three of us whipped around, surprised to see the four Marauders climbing up the hill, Sirius and James leading the pack. Peter was huffing and puffing a few feet away from Remus, clearly not in shape like the other three were.

"Checking another off the list, I see," Sirius said, sending a wink my way. I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest in an effort to battle the cold wind that thrashed around us.

"Actually," Alice responded, not taking her gloved hands off the fence, "We come up here every trip. Think of it as a tradition."

Sirius took a few steps forward, pulling out the folded parchment that I had come accustomed to carrying around with me. Though it took me a moment to realize that he, once again, had somehow gotten it into his possession.

"Hey! That was in my trunk! How did you get that?" I said, quite shrilly, as I wasn't quite sure that I wanted to hear the answer.

He shrugged casually, holding the parchment steady against the winds. "Stole it. Easy enough, anyways-"

Alice and Mary looked highly affronted, as they had finally realized that he was in the same room as all of their belongings as well. They glared at him, crossing their arms over their chests, not because of the weather, but as an effort to make themselves look more menacing. I have to admit, it worked much better for them than it did for little ol' me.

"How did you get up there?"

"You have no right-"

"You DUG through my TRUNK?"

James let out snorts of laughter as Remus stayed in the shadows, obviously not wanting to contribute to this conversation. Considering he probably knew it was happening and either a) didn't bother trying to stop it or b) didn't want to stop it, staying quiet was probably the best bet for him at that particular moment.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "It's not like a dug through everyone's trunk, just Haley's. And I didn't even dig through your trunk. I like to put it as skimming the surface. Except-" he paused, turning to his coat pocket, sticking his hand in and rummaging around for a moment- "I have to say, Haley, I definitely didn't peg you for this particular kind."

He tossed over a piece of fabric and I caught it clumsily in my glove-clad hands. It took me a moment to respond, as I was caught gawking in pure embarrassment at what he had just tossed over. Lacy, black underwear. My lacy, black underwear. I balled them in my fist and shoved them into my jacket pocket, my face flaming red.

"You—I—Sirius Black!" I managed to stutter out, glaring up at him despite the mortification I was feeling. He had taken my underwear. He clearly had it throughout the whole trip. In his jacket pocket. I wished for the Earth to swallow me whole at that very second.

"Classy, very classy, Black," James reprimanded his best friend, though I could tell it was fake, as he was trying to stifle a hoot of laughter. Sirius grinned at James.

"Shouldn't you be treating these ladies with respect," Remus groaned as he finally interjected his opinion into the conversation, "Instead of stealing her underwear from her trunk and bringing it with you to Hogsmeade?"

Sirius waved off his other best friend, shooting him another grin as well. You could never fight with Sirius Black, as he always had some form of argument or retort ready. "Anyways, I couldn't help but notice that you have breaking into the Shrieking Shack on your list of things to do," he threw another heart-stopping smile at me, his gray eyes glimmered with excitement, "Are you ready?"

"Erm- ready for what?"

Sirius smirked, the excitement still in his eyes. "To break into the Shrieking Shack, of course."

My eyes widened as I tossed them between the haunted shack and Sirius, who was quivering with anticipation by this point. "How exactly are we going to get in? I thought all of the windows and doors were boarded over?"

"Found a way in during fourth year," he shrugged. He grabbed onto my shoulders and turned me around so I was facing the shack. He pointed over my shoulder to the third window on the right side of the house. "We figured out that charm was a little weaker than the others. We were able to break through it in three Hogsmeade trips. Now we can go in and out of the shack at our pleasure." I glanced over my shoulder at him and I couldn't help but notice the boyish grin, the sharp cologne, his beautiful gray eyes… a chill went down my spine, spreading quickly to the site where his hands were still resting gently on my shoulders.

Oh Merlin, what is happening to me?

"Haley? Haley, are you ready?"

I quickly shook myself out of my thoughts, focusing on the task in front of me. "No, no not today," I shook my head forcefully, "Definitely not ready for that."

"And why not?"

"I don't like haunted houses," I murmured and, to my surprise, Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"Oh fine, Brams, we'll go another time." He let go of my shoulders, much to my dismay, and turned to follow the Marauders back down the steep hill. "But don't think that I'll forget, because breaking you into the Shrieking Shack is now my top priority."

I grinned at him, no longer embarrassed or upset at the fact that he stole my lacy underwear from my trunk. In fact, something stirred deep inside me at the thought.

And it confused me more than anything.


	10. Chapter 10

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"Monday night seems a little odd for a party, don't you think?" I mumbled darkly, tossing my quill down onto my parchment as I had officially given up on writing the essay for Transfiguration that was due by the end of the week.

An essay that, it seemed, no one else was interested in writing at that particular moment. As it was Sirius Black's 18th birthday and he commanded everyone's attention.

Though, to be fair, he really didn't have to command it. Our fellow Gryffindors' gave it to him willingly, even the younger ones whom he had never spoken to before. That was the persona of Sirius- be loud, be outgoing, be friendly, and laugh. I swear those were the only things he lived by.

I slammed my book shut, grumbling under my breath as I shoved it into my bag, followed closely by the parchment with only an inch of essay written on it. I didn't even care that the parchment crumbled easily beneath the heavy book.

"Oh come on, Haley, have some fun!" Alice said as she slammed a butterbeer down in front of me, taking only a second to pop the cork off the rim. "It's your first party, settle down, drink a bit."

I pushed the glass bottle away from me, glaring at my best friend for trying to coerce me. She smiled widely, pushing the glass bottle back in my direction.

"Just stay for a little bit," she said loudly, trying to be heard over the bumping of the bass and intermittent screeching sounds as Remus tried to finagle with the Wireless. "I promise that I'll check you off on it, but you've been working so hard the past couple of days. Let your hair down!" She paused to dramatically pull my curly blonde locks from the usual messy bun that I wore at the nape of my neck. I laughed heartily, taking a timid sip of the butterbeer.

There was a quick roar from the corner as Sirius Black stumbled over, a wide grin on his face. He swung a heavy arm over my shoulder, weighing me down in the cushioned seat that sat in the far corner of the common room.

He took another sip of his drink that smelled heavily of booze and I couldn't help but wonder just how many drinks he had already had that night. Let alone how many he was planning on having in the future.

"So good to see you getting your heels dirty," Sirius managed to slur out as he took another large swig of the drink. I scrunched my nose at the smell, not yet accustomed to the inner workings of Hogwarts birthday parties. "Here, have some of this."

He thrust the drink into my hand before turning my chair so I was completely facing him. He put a hand on each arm of the chair, so his face was a mere few inches from my own. I couldn't help but stare into his gray eyes, which (even though he was drunker than the barman at the Hogs's Head) still danced with amusement and happiness. I lifted the drink slightly in his direction before taking a small sip.

I sputtered as the liquid hit my throat, creating a slow burn that spread from the back of my mouth to my stomach. It wasn't a feeling that I rather enjoyed, to be honest with you. I choked a bit, but tried to play it off by wiping my mouth so my dislike for alcohol wouldn't appear so obvious.

Unfortunately, even smashed Sirius was too smart for me, as he grabbed the glass from my hand and laughed loudly before downing the rest of the drink with one fell swoop. My jaw dropped in mild intrigue and disgust as he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, smacking his lips together.

"Damn, that's good stuff," he slurred even more, pointing this time toward his best friend, James, who was playing bartender this time around. "Prongs, get another one ready for me!"

James lifted the empty firewhiskey bottle and tipped it upside down, shaking it dramatically as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm going to have to get more. We're clean out, Padfoot!"

Sirius groaned in response before a bright smile lit up his face. "Here, Prongs," he said as he grabbed ah hold of my wrist and hauled me to my feet, "Take Haley with you. She's got to be checked off on a few things anyways. I'm sure that you could find something to help her with!"

He shoved me forward, much to my dismay, before tripping across the common room and landing on the couch between two fifth year girls, who both began giggling madly as Sirius flirted relentlessly with them. I grimaced. Even hammered, Sirius was irresistible to the better part of the female population.

"You really don't have to go if you don't want to," James shouted in my ear, causing me to jump, not out of the noise, but I hadn't seen him come up behind me. "I'm just going to run into Hogsmeade and buy some more from Rosmerta. It should only take thirty minutes or so."

I raised my eyebrows before scrunching them in confusion. "You're going to Hogsmeade? How are you planning on getting there?"

James smiled before shoving his hands into his pants pockets and gesturing toward the door with his head. His messy black hair fell into his glasses. I couldn't help but chuckle. "Come with me and I'll show you."

I glanced around me for a moment. Alice and Mary were busy putting in song requests with Remus, who was still trying to fidget with the wireless. Peter was too enthralled with Sirius, who had just started taking turns snogging the girls that sat on either side of him.

I turned back to James and smiled widely, gesturing for him to lead me out of the common room. He grinned down at me before spinning on his heels and marching toward the portrait of the fat lady, swinging her open with some force. I clambered out of the common room with him, not realizing at the time that Lily had been watching us closely, her eyes narrowed with suspicion and hurt.

"So I see a few things that you need to get…signed off on?" James said, finally breaking the silence as we made our way down a flight of stairs that hid behind a tapestry. I was more than mildly impressed by his knowledge of the castle.

"Yeah I think I have quite a- hey! Where do you guys keep getting that from?"

James had pulled out my checklist from the back pocket of his jeans and was unfolding it while we continued our trek down the long flight of stairs. "Sirius took it from your bag while you were trying to finish your essay," he shrugged, "it was only twenty minutes ago."

I huffed indignantly, causing James to laugh.

"You don't like Sirius helping you out with this?" he asked, curiosity filling his voice. I had a feeling that our negotiation was something Sirius didn't discuss with James very often. Typical male best friend relationship, I could only guess. I talked about our negotiation with Alice and Mary quite often, but maybe that was the difference between males and females.

It wasn't like I had a plethora of male friends to ask anyways.

"I don't like Sirius going through my stuff," I sighed, wrapping my arms around my chest as James peeked through the exit, glancing down both ends of the corridor before gesturing for me to follow him through. I hopped out of the hidden staircase, slightly mortified as I fell into James's side. He caught me easily, standing me up straight.

"Sorry 'bout that," I mumbled, tucking a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear.

James laughed, leading the way down another corridor. I followed closely behind him. "No reason to apologize, Haley. So tell me about your checklist. Why did you decide to go with- wait just a second. Hold that thought."

He paused in front of the statue Gunhilda of Gorsemoor, pulling out his wand and tapping the hump of the one-eyed witch. I looked around the corridor, for the first time recognizing where I was. Third floor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts tower. It all looked so different at night. Shadows danced across the stone floor. The breeze blew in from the grounds, ruffling the tapestries against the walls.

"_Dissendium."_

My jaw dropped as the hump of the witch popped open, revealing a smooth, stone slide. "How in the world did you find this?"

James grinned widely, pointing toward the stone slide, gesturing for me to jump through it. I turned toward him, cocking an eyebrow. "You want me to jump onto a stone slide that leads into a deep, dark hole that we can't see the bottom of?"

He nodded vigorously in response, causing me to giggle from his wide grin. I shook my head, gesturing for him to go first. He shrugged before grasping onto the hump and throwing himself down the hole.

"Come on, Haley! We don't have all day." His voice echoed off the stone slide, clearly telling me that he was in a smaller space.

I shifted on my feet, rocking back and forth until I finally made the decision to grasp onto the hump and throw myself down the slide. It dragged up the back of my shirt, the stone was cool and smooth against the skin of my back. I fell into a narrow way, the dirt of the passage slipped beneath my feet. I felt James grab onto my forearm and haul me to my feet. I stumbled up, bracing myself against the wall.

"Let's go, we have to get back to Sirius's party sometime tonight."

I scoffed at him, dusting the dirt off my jeans and pulling my jacket tighter around my shoulders.

Then we walked…and walked…and walked…and walked. The passageway became narrow, the ceiling came closer to the floor, causing James and me to duck in order to keep the top of our heads from scrapping at the dirt and roots. The passageway became wide, giving us enough of a berth to walk side-by-side. At different intervals it was stone, then wood, then dirt, then back to stone.

"How much farther?" I asked, stumbling over a tree root that stuck up from the ground beneath my feet. James turned, placing two hands on my shoulders before placing his index finger over his lips, telling me to be quiet. He pointed at a trap door above us, something I hadn't noticed when we stopped. Just over his shoulder, I spotted a rickety, wooden ladder that protruded from the side of the tunnel.

He shimmied up the ladder, placing his hand onto the trap door and nudging it up slowly and carefully. He poked his head out, glancing around above us before climbing out of the tunnel and gesturing for me to follow him.

I was much slower than he was, considering I was no way near how in shape he was, but I eventually made it to the top. He reached down and grabbed a hold of my upper arm, pulling me through the trap door. I looked around, taking in my surroundings. Old, dusty boxes littered the floor. Stacks upon stacks of crates lined the walls. They seemed to be strategically placed, so the owner would know exactly where they were.

"Where are we?" I whispered, jumping slightly when my voice carried much farther and louder than I had expected it to. James chuckled at my nerves, shaking his head slightly.

"Basement of Honeydukes."

"Basement of-" I jumped back in shock, staring at him with wide eyes. "Honeydukes! You made me break into the candy store. Oh Merlin, I'm so not doing this-" I made to climb back down the ladder, but James grabbed my upper arm and hauled me toward the stairs- me nearly kicking and screaming (silently) the entire way there.

He crept up the wooden steps, carefully avoiding all the creaks like he knew exactly where they all were. I followed in his footsteps, regret running through my head while my heart pounded erratically, threatening to give us away to the owners. He poked his head out from behind the counter, gesturing for me to follow when he saw that it was all clear.

I bundled my jacket tighter around my torso as I slunk out from the basement stairs, following him through the front door of the shop and into the gusty street. Leaves blew around us, evidence of the fierce wind that we couldn't see. My curly, blonde locks flew around my face, sticking to my chapped lips. I pulled it off my skin, taking care to tighten it at the nape of my neck.

I jogged after James, not realizing that he had already started down the cobblestone pathway. Without even bothering to see if I was following him, he ducked into the Three Broomsticks. The warmth from the pub welcomed me and I gratefully loosened the grip I had on my jacket.

"Back again, Mr. Potter?" The barmaid, Rosmerta, smirked as she continued to wipe down the glass she was holding. "I thought I was going to see the last of you for the night."

James grinned, tossing a few galleons onto the smooth countertop. "You couldn't expect us to stay away too long. It is Sirius's eighteenth birthday after all."

Rosemerta grinned as she swept the money from the countertop into the palm of her hand, dropping it noisily into the old register. It dinged loudly, signifying that James had, in fact, paid the right amount of money. The woman turned her back for a moment before slamming a case of Firewhiskey onto the surface, smiling ever so slightly as she did.

"You're lucky that I think you're handsome, Mr. Potter," she sang with amusement. James pulled the case off the counter and tucked it under his arm with ease. "Don't come back tonight or I may have to report you." She slung the dirty rag over her shoulder and whisked herself into the backroom.

"Ready?" James grinned at me before ducking out of the warm pub and into the cold night. I had almost forgotten the external temperature and, for a moment, I even considered staying in the pub for the night. Just so I wouldn't have to go back outside.

Luckily, he snuck us back into Honeydukes with no problem and we crept back down into the basement with ease. He dipped into the tunnel first, setting the crate onto the dirt floor before turning to help me down the ladder. He grabbed my hips lightly, easing me into the tunnel before reaching above me and closing the trap door with a small snap. He bent down and tucked the crate under his arm again before heading back toward the castle, our product now in hand.

"So, you were telling me earlier about your decision to become a troublemaker. Please, elaborate."

I shrugged my shoulder casually, ducking under a deep root that penetrated the ceiling of the tunnel. "Oh, just something my brother said to me over the summer. That I didn't have any fun. I realized that- well- he was right."

"And what about this?" he went on, gesturing dramatically toward the tunnel before us. "Did you think this was fun?"

I paused for a moment, letting my pounding heart subside. I smiled up at him, mirroring the excited expression on his face. "Yeah, yeah I think so. I'm still trying to get the hang of everything. But…Sirius has been a great help to me. He's actually kind of a sweetheart."

James snorted, pushing open the hump of the witch for him to crawl through. "Don't let him hear you say that. You'll ruin his manhood."

I laughed, climbing the stairs toward the Gryffindor tower with James by my side. He paused just outside the portrait of the fat lady, the case of firewhiskey still tucked underneath his arm. He placed the crate on the stone floor, pulling my list out of his back pocket.

"I think I owe you a signature." He bit his bottom lip as his eyes skimmed over the parchment. He took a quill from his pocket and scrawled his name next to Number 10- Find a secret passageway and see where it leads. "And there you go."

I took the parchment from him, smiling widely that I had another one checked off. "But wait…it doesn't count if you already knew about the secret passageway. Doesn't make it much of a secret anymore."

James shrugged, bending down to pick up the crate. "There isn't a secret passageway that I or Padfoot don't know about. Consider it your own secret passageway now."

I grinned again, stepping forward to tell the fat lady the password. "You know," I said, pausing at the portrait, "Lily has been eyeing you all night. You could start talking to her again. You know, take it slow this time." I shrugged casually. "See where it goes."

He looked pleasantly pleased and rather excited as the fat lady's portrait swung forward, revealing a loud and rambunctious party that had really only just started.


	11. Chapter 11

**Well, hello there chapter 11, it's nice to see you too! Here it is, chapter 11! I hope you are all having a great week (I know I am!) and I hope you have awesome plans for the weekend.**

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**Read and enjoy!**

"Hey! Haley, wait up!"

I was fairly certain my face was on the brink of turning beet red. I could feel the heat flushing up my neck and settling into my cheeks. Lily and I had barely spoken since our spat a month back. In her defense, I think I was the one that avoided her more than anything.

I made sure I stayed out of her way and was never around whenever she was alone…just in case moments like this could crop up. Unfortunately, Mary had to rush off for a quidditch practice and Alice needed to hit the library before our charms class after lunch. Which left me stuck walking…with Lily…by myself…

"Oh-erm-hi Lily," I said quite awkwardly, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind my ear. I picked up the pace, hoping that Lily would get the hint and leave me alone, but the girl was on a mission. Plus, she had a couple inches on me, so she easily kept up with my brisk pace.

"Listen, I really wanted to thank you-" She started. I bumped into a nasty looking Slytherin, a seventh year who got his kicks from torturing small animals, as I continued to stare at her in shock. Did I hear what I think I just heard?

"I should be apologizing!" I rushed out, cutting her off suddenly. "I had no right to interfere with your business. We aren't that close and it was rather rude of me to-"

Lily stopped and grabbed a hold of my shoulders, swinging her body in front of mine so she could look down at me. "No, you were completely in the right. I was so caught up in my own world that I didn't realize I was being so mean to him when all he was trying to be was nice to me. Don't get me wrong, the last six years he was a downright prat, but he's been a new person these past few weeks, so thank you…for putting it into perspective for me."

I must have been staring at her in wide-eyed shock, because she let out a giggle.

"James and I have been getting along much better now. It's made patrolling the hallways at night much easier. I know we haven't started the year off the greatest, but I really wanted to-"

"OY! BRAMS!"

I groaned, rolling my eyes at Lily, who was trying to suppress a sudden expression of mixed shock and awe. "Sorry about him," I said, gesturing with my head toward Sirius, who had shot out of the dungeon at lightning speed, "He really doesn't know his manners. Evidently his mother didn't teach him much of anything."

Lily smiled down at me, brushing her dark red hair out of her bottle green eyes. "I think he likes you."

I scrunched my nose, turning to look at her. "You think so? I mean, I was hoping that he at least thought I was semi-cool. We have been spending all this time together-"

She laughed out loud, her giggle sprinkling through the air rather gracefully. "No, I mean I think he LIKES you. He's been spending all this time with you. I mean, he doesn't even spend that much time with his girlfriend."

The casual comment punched me straight in the gut. I honestly had no idea why. I didn't LIKE Sirius like that. He was just a friend…barely just a friend. We have a business relationship that worked to both of our advantages. So why was it bothering me so much? Why did I all of a sudden have to know every detail of his relationship with this girl?

Oh Merlin. I was turning into a crazy person.

Lily must have caught the look on my face, as she grimaced down at me, nodding her head solemnly. "Since two weeks ago, I heard. Sixth year Hufflepuff."

I tried to cover up the expression of shock with one of indifference, but Lily was, unfortunately, too smart for me.

"I'm telling you," she went on quickly, eyeing the fact that Sirius was marching toward us at record speed, "He really has a thing for you. He doesn't spend this much time with anyone, except James and the other boys. If I were you, I'd be pretty careful."

I didn't have time to respond, as Sirius reached us at that point. Lily dismissed herself politely, leaving me to walk with Sirius to lunch. Something we had done a million times before, but this time it just seemed…different.

I wasn't sure if that was because of what Lily said, but my nerves felt like they were about to jump out of my skin. I tried to rub the palms of my sweaty hands on my robes without seeming like a complete berk. I couldn't even look him in the eye without a fierce blush crawling up my face. His mere presence did that to me…as I'm sure it did to every other girl in the school.

"So, I was thinking, Brams," he started, casually swinging his arms at his sides as if my presence around him didn't bother him nearly as much as his presence bothered me. Which was probably true, since he was Sirius Black and I was…well, nobody. "That you should go to the Gryffindor quidditch game tomorrow. And, since it's my last first quidditch game, you should wear my quidditch shirt."

"Excuse me?"

He paused for a moment, turning his head to dig through his shoulder bag. He pulled out a few pieces of parchment, littering the floor in a trail of unfinished homework that he left scattered around the hallway behind us. I shook my head, failing to repress the smile that had snuck onto my lips.

"You know, my quidditch shirt." He dramatically pulled out his shirt- a maroon and gold jersey with the number six printed on the back. BLACK was printed just above the number, clearly indicating that it was, in fact, his quidditch shirt. "You should wear it to the game tomorrow."

I was in complete shock for the second time in ten minutes, my face glowed a dark pink once again. "Erm- I, I don't think so."

He didn't even miss a beat, smirking down at me as he waved the shirt in front of my eyes. "Oh, come on Brams. Just wear the shirt. I bet you'll look the best in it." He sent a wink my way, severely increasing the number of Bowtruckles that had all of a sudden taken up residence in the pit of my stomach.

"Whoever said that I was going to the game tomorrow?" I said cheekily, silently wondering if I should bat my eyelashes. That sounded a bit cheesy to me, but I figured that's what girls were supposed to do when boys flirted with them.

"I did," he said with confidence, draping the shirt over my shoulder as he made to split off down a separate hallway. "Plus, you have to get checked off on it anyways!"

"Where are you going? It's lunch time," I called behind him, scrunching my brow as I watched him back down the hallway so he could still talk to me. This resulted in him crashing into quite a few people, not all of them appreciative of the Black charm that he could turn on.

"Detention with McGonagall," he responded with a shrug, "Rather miss lunch than miss the game tomorrow!"

I shook my head, waving him off as I continued my trek toward the Great Hall, my stomach rumbling the entire way there.

The rest of the day passed without incident, unless you count James nearly decapitating Severus with a missed ingredient in potion's class. That was easily and quickly fixed by Mulciber, much to everyone's disappointment. The greasy slime ball managed to shoot an incredibly dirty look at the Potter boy, who was hooting with laughter at the singed hair and ruffled robes of the Slytherin.

Even Lily couldn't resist cracking a smile. If Lily was even making fun of you, I reckoned you had to be a pretty awful person. She didn't make fun of people, or talk about people negatively in any way, shape, or form very often, but when she did…let's just say that I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of her Bat-Bogey jinx.

I dumped my shoulder bag onto my bed that evening, ready to settle into bed with a book my mother had sent me in the mail. After digging profusely through my trunk, I managed to extract a set of pajamas and stole the bathroom for a few minutes to take a quick shower.

I wrapped the towel around my head as I pushed the bathroom door open with my hip, sending clouds of steam rolling out of the room behind me. It took a moment for me to notice the girls of my dorm had gathered around my bed, gawking silently at something that was sticking out of my- oh no. Sirius's jersey.

I shoved past the girls, pushing the jersey back into my shoulder bag, but the damage was already done.

"What. In the world. Was that?" Alice asked slowly, a perfectly manicured eyebrow cocking as she turned her gaze down to me. I awkwardly shuffled my feet, not wanting to answer.

"I know exactly what THAT is," Lily answered with a smirk, crossing her arms over her chest, "How many languages can you say 'I told you so' in?"

"It isn't even like that," I responded hurriedly, trying to steal the bag off my bed. Mary snatched the strap from my hand, turning the bag upside down with a quick turn of her hands. Out came the hordes of books, broken quills, crumpled parchment, ink bottles…and finally, landing with a traitorous thump on top of everything else…the jersey.

"That is Sirius Black's quidditch shirt," Dorcas said slowly, her brown eyes fixed tightly on my pink face. "How in the world did you get that? Did you steal it or something?"

Lily smacked her friend on the arm, sending her an appalled look. "Of course she didn't steal it!" She turned to me, her eyebrows raised high on her forehead. "That was when he tracked you down after class today, wasn't it?"

I nodded my head slowly, silently wishing the floor would swallow me alive at this point. Could this get any more mortifying?

"He tracked you down after class today?" Alice repeated with an amused look on her face. "Sirius Black doesn't track anyone down."

"Stop it," I insisted, trying to snatch the shirt from the pile of junk that had fallen from my bag, but Mary blocked my movement quickly, sending me staggering back a few steps. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the four girls.

Lily giggled as she sank down onto my bed, pushing aside a few broken quills that rolled her way. "I think Sirius is a tad infatuated."

Dorcas widened her eyes with disbelief, flicking them over to me as she raked her gaze over my body. "With her? You must be joking."

Lily ignored her best friend as she continued on. "Why else? He doesn't hand out that jersey to just anyone. He gave it to Haley before he even gave it to Sarah."

There she was again. Being brought up in casual conversation. I huffed in discomfort as my stomach turned over a few times, making me rather nauseous. I don't know why I was having this reaction. It was completely ridiculous. Sirius was more than welcome to have as many girlfriends as he pleased. He wasn't really infatuated with me…was he?

Alice grimaced at Lily's comment. "She's going to hate you. Watch out, she specializes in trip jinxes. I saw her use one on McLaggen a few weeks back."

I sighed, tightening the hold that my arms had across my chest. My blonde hair ruffled slightly at the breeze that blew in between the crack in the window and stone pane. "It doesn't matter. I don't think I'm going to wear it."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Don't be thick. Of course you're going to wear it."

"This is SIRIUS BLACK," Dorcas agreed, shaking her head slowly, as if she were still in the process of translating the information before her. "You have to wear that jersey."

And that was exactly how I got stuck wearing Sirius Black's maroon quidditch shirt for the game the next day. It was blustery and cold, snowflakes blew across the yard, smacking my cheek with small stings. I bundled up tight, but my roommates made sure that his jersey was visible from every angle of my outfit.

I pulled a pair of gloves over my hands as I made my way down to the pitch for my first…my absolute first…quidditch game. It was rather thrilling, to tell you the truth. Fans clad in blue and others draped in maroon, sending playful comments and shoving each other down the front lawn. The air was zinging with energy and excitement.

And, at that moment, I wondered why it had taken me so long to attend one of the games. The atmosphere was addictive, sweeping me into the happy competition without a second thought on my part. By the time we reached the pitch and climbed the tall staircases to the Gryffindor fan section, a large grin was plastered on my lips.

"What is she wearing that for?"

"She must have stolen it."

"I hope that Sarah doesn't see it."

"Do you think he would let me wear it next game?"

"You have GOT to be kidding me."

Alice shook her head as she pulled me through the crowd, climbing over younger students to where Remus was signaling us over. He was seated next to Peter, who looked rather jumpy even for him. Remus grinned at us as we took a seat on the wooden bench next to him.

"Glad you could make it, Haley!" Remus said eagerly, leaning across Lily to get a better look at him. He eyed the jersey with interest before nodding toward the fans behind us. "Just ignore them. Clearly, they're a bit jealous."

I turned in my seat just enough to hear a few more insults hurled my way, the most unique one about how my hair looked as if I stuck my finger in an electrical socket. Whatever that meant. Lily shot the girls a glare, effectively ending their rant about me.

I was slightly hurt, though. Enough where, in that moment, I wanted to leave. I wanted to escape the confines of the pitch and hurry back to my favorite seat by the fireplace and curl up with a good book. The wind blew fierce across the field, stinging my cheeks and making my eyes water. If it continued like this, I was never going to come to another quidditch game. Ever.

The pitch around us burst into cheers as the two teams walked onto the field. Even from my seat toward the top of the stadium, I could see Sirius's smirk. He waved adoringly at the fans, causing many to jeer and even more to laugh. He looked so at ease, comfortable in his own skin, as he held his broom in one hand and left his beater's bat swinging at his side. I spotted Mary next, her usual ponytail just grazing the back of her neck. She was shifting back and forth on her feet, evidently jittery for her first game of the season.

James stepped forward, the captain of the Ravenclaw team followed suit. They shook hands quickly, smiling at each other in friendly competition. Next to me, I heard Lily sigh in adoration. I smirked to myself, deciding to not say anything about her new affections for the Potter boy. She would probably just deny it anyways.

The fourteen players climbed onto their brooms and on the blow of the whistle, which was nearly lost in the roaring of the wind, they were off.

I was amazed at the swiftness of my fellow classmates. I hadn't realized how good they were as quidditch players. Well, considering I hadn't ever witnessed a quidditch match, they could have been absolutely terrible and I would have thought them to be genius athletes.

"Potter hands it off to MacDonald who zooms down the field, closely tailed by- oh! Knocked off course by a bludger from Gordon," the announcer said, keeping us in the loop of the game.

"WOW! I didn't think I would ever see my baby sister at a match," a voice behind me slurred, pushing through the crowd until he was standing next to me. Alice was nearly in the aisle way at this point, sending nasty glares in my brother's direction. I smelt something that I had become very familiar with only a few days before that- firewhiskey.

Daniel took another swig out of a water bottle he had stashed in his coat pocket. His nose and lips were pink from the cold, but I'm fairly certain that his cheeks were pink from the alcohol. I looked up at him in shock, not wanting to believe that my brother was getting drunk…at a quidditch match…in public…in the middle of the day.

"Are you really drinking?" I asked, my jaw slack in surprise. "It's noon, Daniel."

He shrugged as he took another swig, leaning forward to say something privately between us. I could smell the sweet, strong scent of the firewhiskey on his breath. It was enough to make my stomach turn over a few times. "I wonder how Black got you to watch this match," he said, gesturing toward my jersey as he raised his eyebrows, "You never had any interest before."

"What are you insinuating?" I asked coldly, my voice rising a little higher than it should have been. A few people glanced at us, flicking their eyes between the fight that was about to break out and the match. Luckily for everyone, Lily caught the end of my sentence just in the nick of time and decided to come to my rescue.

"If you must know, they're just friends," Lily shot at him, placing a hand delicately on my shoulder. "He gave her that jersey to wear today."

Daniel shrugged, evidently not wanting to argue with Lily. It was well known in the Brams household that Daniel had as big of a crush on Lily that James Potter did, but was far less vocal about it. "Whatever you say. I still think it's a bit fishy." He paused to rake his gaze over the jersey once again before climbing back up the bleachers, heading in the direction of his Ravenclaw friends.

I watched as he stumbled slightly into a group of second years, all of them wrinkling their noses at the sight and smell of my twin brother. I sighed, turning back toward the game just in time to see Sirius smash a bludger toward one of the Ravenclaw chasers, effectively knocking him clean off his broom.

Lily groaned, placing a hand to her forehead. "This is why quidditch bothers me sometimes," she said earnestly, turning to look at me with wide eyes. "I can promise you that, no matter who I end up marrying, my children will not play this ruthless sport."

I snorted in response, the game grabbing my attention once again. James, with the help of Mary, had just passed the quaffle through the center hoop for the fourth time since the game began. He did a quick victory lap around the pitch, pumping his fist high in the air as boos and cheers erupted around the stadium.

I cheered along with Lily, Alice, and Dorcas- clapping loudly and whistling as the Gryffindor team rose higher and higher in the score, nearly shutting out the Ravenclaw offense completely. The game ended a mere thirty minutes after the kick off with Esther Hughes, the seeker of the Gryffindor team, snagging the snitch from underneath her opponent's nose.

"That was…completely exhilarating!" I huffed to Mary and Alice as we made our way back to the castle, the wind biting nastily at our exposed faces. Lily held herself back at the entrance of the pitch, evidently waiting for James to appear out of the changing rooms. She insisted that they had head boy and girl things to go over, but she wasn't fooling anyone. We all knew that Lily had begun to develop a crush on the Potter boy. "How did I miss that for the first six years of school?"

Mary shrugged her shoulders, laughing along with me before throwing an arm over my own shoulders. "Next thing on the list is getting you onto a broom yourself."

I quickly shook my head, waving my arms erratically in front of me. "Oh, no, no, no. That would not happen. My feet are going to remain firmly on the ground, thank you very much."

Little did I know, though my feet were going to remain on the ground, Sirius Black had something else in mind.


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm sooo incredibly grateful for all of the reviews and alerts for this story…seriously, I'm blown away. You guys are amazing! Please keep it up, I've been loving it!**

**So here it is…chapter 12! Let me know what you think!**

**Read and enjoy!**

Evidently my self-proclaimed statement of keeping my feet firmly on the ground lasted less than a week, as Sirius Black cornered me in the library a mere two days after the first Gryffindor win of the quidditch season. I was reaching for a book that was located on a shelf that was a few inches higher than my hand could get in touch with. I stepped onto my tip toes, stretching a great deal in order to try and knock the book off the shelf.

That was when Sirius found the opportune moment to creep over and tickle me in the side. I screeched, covering my ribs quickly out of surprise and whipped around to see him clutching his stomach with laughter.

"Oh hardy har har, Sirius Black," I sneered at him as I started to reach for the book once again, this time keeping a close eye on him to make sure he wasn't going to try anything like that again, "Aren't you just the funniest person around."

He managed to control himself long enough to fake a bow. I snorted in faux laughter, turning my attention toward the book that I had been previously reaching for. I stepped onto my tip toes once again, stretching my arm as far as I could. I barely grazed the bottom of the book with my fingertips.

"Here, let me," he said, stepping forward and grabbing the book easily off the shelf. Considering he was at least a head taller than me, it wasn't too hard for him to reach.

I thanked him profusely, tucking the book on Potions into my book bag. I needed it for a Potion's essay that was due just before Christmas break. Even though it was a few weeks from now, I wanted to get a head start on the essay. I wanted to do a good job on it.

"What are you up to now?" he said, once he knew I had nothing else holding my undivided attention. I shrugged in response.

"Erm- I was going to start this essay." I paused, raking my eyes over his handsome features in suspicion. "Why?"

And that's when I saw it- the dreaded object he had hidden by his back. The new Cleansweep Four, one of the best brooms on the market, according to my brother. He was always jealous that Sirius Black had the money to buy this kind of broom. A summers worth of savings gave him barely enough money to cover the StarShooter Two and that broom was far from comparing to the newest Cleansweep.

"Oh, no. Absolutely not," I said, waving my hands in front of me. I widened my eyes, fairly certain I knew exactly what he had in mind.

Sirius rolled his eyes, taking a step toward me with his hand extending out to grab onto my arm. I stumbled backward, still managing to avoid his clutches. "Come on, Brams," he sighed in frustration, "Don't be such a baby. I'm not going to strap you to it and laugh as it goes hog wild." He paused, surveying my face for a moment. "Plus you have to get checked off on it." He reached into the back pocket of his pants and pulled out my wrinkled list.

"How do you keep getting that?" I said, exasperated. I ran my hand through my curly hair. The site probably wasn't as graceful as I intended, considering my fingers got stuck in the tangles halfway through.

He tapped the tip of my nose, keeping his lips firmly sealed. I sighed. "But it's cold outside. It's nearly December. Can't we wait for it to be a bit warmer-"

He held up his finger to cut me off. "I thought of every possible retort, since I knew you were going to argue about it." He dramatically unrolled the scroll. "So I studied every number on this list and I decided…we can either do number eight or number seventeen." He rolled up the parchment. "Your pick."

I nodded my head, pleased that he would at least give me the choice. "Okay, so what are they then?"

Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "That's part of the fun. You just have to pick a number."

I scrunched my nose, silently cursing the day that the list ended up in his hands. "You can't honestly expect me to just pick a number! You have to give me an idea of what they are."

"No I don't."

I groaned, rubbing my temples. "How about this? How about we don't do anything today and I go back to my dormitory, where you can't get me, and start this essay." I made to push past him, but he quickly blocked my path. He was much heavier than I as well, so trying to shove him aside didn't do any good either.

"Not an option either."

At this point, my nerves were on edge. "What do you want from me, Sirius Black?"

"I want you to pick a number."

"Can't you go hang out with your girlfriend or something?" I retorted, my frustration with the boy in front of me near the breaking point. It didn't help that his gray eyes were sparkling with amusement…taunting me…

"Broke up with her two days ago, so I'm all yours," he grinned at me, opening up his arms in a welcoming gesture. My heart jumped into my throat, making it hard for me to respond. I tried to push past him one more time, but he easily averted my attempt.

"Merlin! Fine!" I said, throwing my arms up in the air. "I'll pick a damn number. Seventeen!"

He looked quite pleased with himself as he unrolled the parchment and glanced down at the list, as if he didn't know the whole thing by heart already. He shook his head and made a tsk-ing noise with his tongue. "I'm honestly shocked that you picked that one. I don't think you'll like it at all."

I took a deep breath in, glaring up at him. I started to second guess my decision. What if it was something horrifically embarrassing? What if it was something I had to do…with him? I wouldn't put it past him to try and get me to hike up my skirt while he makes a move. We were in the back corner of the library. People really wouldn't be strolling along in this part of the castle.

My gut instinct was screaming at me to keep it at number seventeen, but his beautiful gray eyes burned down at me, fuzzling my brain and making it hard for me to concentrate on much of anything. "Gah! No, number eight. I go with number eight!"

Sirius made to unroll the parchment once again, but he stopped himself midway. "I think number eight will do just fine." He stuffed the parchment back into his pocket before shouldering the Cleansweep. "Come on, Brams. We've got places to be and people to see."

I sighed, hitching my bag higher onto my shoulder as I followed him toward the exit of the library. Why did I have to listen to everything he said? Why did I have to put myself through this time and time again?

_Because you like him._

No, no I do not like him. This is Sirius Black we're talking about. This is the boy who I was supposed to hate because he had it so easy in life. This is the boy that tortures Severus Snape on a bi-daily basis. This is the boy that laughs too loud, jokes around too much, and barely has a future ahead of him.

But, despite all of that…despite the fact that I knew he would end up with a girl who was beautiful and graceful and wickedly tall with long, slender legs and hair that was never out of place…_I still liked him. _

I continued with my internal struggle, trudging behind Sirius Black as he trekked out of the castle and onto the grounds. Snow had begun to fall just this morning, creating a light blanket of white that dusted the front lawn and the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest. Smoke snaked out of the chimney that erupted from Hagrid's roof.

"It is cold out here," I moaned, wrapping my arms tighter around my chest. Sirius smirked back at me, turning around to walk backwards so he could continue the conversation.

"It's only going to get colder from this point."

I stopped in my tracks. "What is THAT supposed to mean?"

Sirius grinned, reaching to take out the parchment from his back pocket. "Just remember that you picked the number, not me." He held out the list and I quickly took it from him, scanning my eyes over quickly down to number eight.

My heart sank to my feet, the blood immediately rushed out of my face. Number eight- Take a dip in the Black Lake during the winter. I gulped, realizing at that moment in time that it was a bad idea to allow Alice to put that on the list. I slowly rolled up the parchment, evening out my breaths so I didn't appear nervous or anxious.

The snow had started falling once again, this time in thicker chunks than that morning. Pieces flaked onto my cheeks, sticking slightly to my cooled skin.

"I think I'd rather take number seventeen," I mumbled, stuffing the parchment back into my shoulder bag. Siruis slowly shook his head, a look of fake remorse on his face.

"I'm sorry, love, but I just can't let you do that."

I nodded my head, glancing over to the lake. The waves that usually lapped against the rocky shore were still, despite the winds that blew snow across the lawn. Ice had begun to form, thicker near the edges of the lake and thinning out, eventually disappearing into nothing toward the middle of the lake. I turned my attention back to Sirius, who had been staring at me with a wicked grin.

"So it's come to this then, hasn't it?" I asked, taking a small step backward.

Luckily, Sirius didn't notice my movement as he cocked his head to the side and furrowed his brow. "It's come to what exactly?"

I didn't answer him, as I figured my actions would speak for themselves. So I did the only thing I could think of doing at that moment in time. I spun on my heel and ran as fast as I could back up to the castle.

He let out a loud bark of laughter that echoed from his stance in the middle of the grounds back to me, where I had nearly made it to the front doors to the castle. I huffed and puffed, a stitch stinging my side. Despite my small frame, I was disturbed at how winded I got from that short burst of running. I made a mental note to myself- get in shape for the New Year. But, I would figure that all out later.

Unfortunately for me, running from Sirius Black was like running from a rabid animal- pointless and disappointing. Just as I slid my way across the slick lawn toward the stairs that led to the double doors, a thick arm wrapped tightly around my waist, hoisting me into the air.

"GAH! NO!" I screeched as Sirius easily tossed me over his shoulder, carrying me back toward the lake and its freezing water. "This is not happening right now, this is not happening! I hate you so much Sirius Black, I really do." I felt him slid a bit from the light snow that settled on the grass and I clutched at his waist, wrapping my arms around his stomach so my head was pressed firmly into his middle back.

I couldn't help but notice how nice his firm core felt against my arms. I internally chastised myself, remembering where exactly he was leading me.

"I promise, I'll do anything else," I tried bargaining with him, my arms still wrapped tightly around his waist, "I'll hike up my skirt, I'll ride a broom for as long as you want, I'll even have a quicky with you in the Shrieking Shack." I paused as he let out a burst of laughter, though it was muffled from the angle he held me at. "No, I probably won't do that, but I swear I will do anything else."

"You are a constant surprise," he responded as he carefully set me down on my feet. I noticed he had brought me onto a rock that protruded from the bank to a few feet into the lake. Ice had formed around the rock, but not thick enough to hold my weight. "And as tempting as all those offers sound to me, I would much rather see you jump into that lake." He widened his stance, crossing his arms over his chest. There was no way I was getting past him without shoving him into the water.

"Come on, Sirius," I said, trying one last time, "It's freezing out here. I'm already cold. I don't want to get sick, we only have a month of classes left." I paused, raising my eyebrows. "Please, don't make me do this."

"You know, you went through four of the five stages of grief pretty fast," he said with a chuckle. "Though I do find you quite amusing, I think I would much rather see you get in the lake. So you have two choices." He paused, raising up two fingers in gesture. "One, you can get in on your own accord or two, I can push you in. Either way, Brams, it's inevitable."

I glanced at the lake again, a groan softly escaping my lips. "I would much rather not do either, thank you very much."

Sirius's smirk spread into a grin, never a good sign, as he bent down to untie his shoes.

"Erm- what are you doing?" I asked nervously, eyeing the path that he had just made for me by the small action of bending down to take off his sneakers. I took a few small steps to my left, making it easier for me to see the trail.

"In all my years of being a student here, out of all the things I've done with James," he said, his voice muffled from his position, "I've never jumped in the lake during the winter. Doing that with James would be a bit weird and I've never met a girl who would do it with me."

"I would just like to point out," I retorted, my breathing ragged as the bitter cold wind bit into my cheeks, filling my lungs with icy air, "That you are making me do this, I am not willing." He knocked off one shoe, stumbling slightly as he reached down for the next one.

I took it as my opportunity.

With all the strength, speed, and agility I could muster up, I sprinted toward the pathway on his left side, taking care to skirt as far around him as I could. Regrettably, his quidditch-honed reflexes reacted quickly to my movement. He grabbed me roughly around the waist, not bothering to hoist me over his shoulder as he ran to the edge of the rock.

I knew the moment he jumped into the lake.

First, the scream that exploded from my lungs was one that I had never heard any living being, human or otherwise, make in my life. That included the time when Daniel tried to bathe our pet cat when we were six years old. Second, the sudden movement of being airborne made my stomach flip, giving me the feeling that I had just swallowed my heart by accident. Third, the wave that Sirius had created from hitting the lake first completely soaked through my jeans and jacket. Even though I was immediately doused in the icy water, that didn't give me enough warning of the chilling shock the lake created throughout my body as I went under.

I kicked away from Sirius, shimming my way up to the surface as fast as my water-logged pants could move. I took a deep breath in as I burst through the water, filling my lungs with much needed oxygen. Sirius broke through the water just a few inches from me. He shook his black hair out of his eyes, laughter filling the air.

"Yes! That was just…that was just awesome!"

"Speak for yourself," I shivered, glaring at him as I started to kick my way toward the rock we had just jumped from, "I hate you, Sirius Black. I really do."

His gray eyes sparkled with amusement as he watched me make my way toward the shore. "Oh come on, Brams, can't we at least stay in awhile? The weather is great for a swim." He flipped onto his back, floating just on the surface of the water. Ice broke apart around his limbs, creating tiny cracks in the water around him.

I stopped swimming for a moment, splashing quite a bit of water in his direction. He splurted at the unexpected liquid that entered his mouth and nose, coughing loudly to get it out of his throat. I felt oddly satisfied.

He lunged forward, grabbing onto my arm as he mimicked my motion. This time, he splashed me multiple times. I squeeze my eyes and lips shut, scrunching up my face so I wouldn't get any in my nose like he did. He laughed as he stopped splashing me and I slowly peeked through my eyelids, making sure he wasn't going to surprise attack me again.

I let out a trill of laughter as I reached forward and pulled a piece of seaweed from his black hair. He shook his head quickly, spraying me with flecks of icy drops. I put up my hands to shield my face, laughing loudly at the feeling.

Once he stopped, we glanced at each other. I could only imagine what I looked like at this point, since Sirius's hair stuck to the sides of his head, much different than his usual flowing locks. His cheeks were tinted pink from the cool water and drops of water ran down his face. Snow was beginning to sit on top of his head, mixing with the specks that beaded in his hair.

He reached over to me, gently scraping a blonde lock off my forehead. My breath stuck in my throat at the touch of his fingertips on my skin. He floated a couple more inches toward me, his ragged breath rolling steam out of his mouth. I continued to look at him in silence, afraid at what I would say if I opened my mouth to speak.

"You have a beautiful laugh," he said, pausing to survey me with great interest. "You should use it more often." He took a moment to scrap another piece of hair, this time running his hand down the back of my head. He stopped his hand in the crook of my neck, cupping it gently.

So this is what it felt like to be near Sirius Black. This is the charm he could turn on. I mentally shook my head, reminding myself of how many girls he had probably done this with…how I didn't want my first kiss to be in the lake at Hogwarts in the middle of winter with a boy that didn't give a damn about me or my feelings.

I cleared my throat, breaking the smoldering eye contact that he had been sending me. "We should probably-" I trailed off, gesturing toward the bank. He seemed to have shaken himself out of the stupor he was in, as he agreed with me quickly. I turned around and swam quickly to the edge of the rock before gingerly placing my hands on it.

I felt his hands clutch my core as I hauled myself out of the water, much due to his help. His fingertips grazed the skin on my hips, as the movement pulled my shirt slightly above my jeans. I waddled over to my shoulder bag that had been haphazardly thrown on the lawn. I dug through it, turning around to hand it to Sirius, who was busy slamming his feet into his sneakers.

"Erm, just give it back once you've signed it," I said awkwardly, tossing the roll of parchment toward him. He caught it easily, but I didn't wait to see the look on his face, as I was already turned around and stalking up the grassy hill toward the castle.

I hate myself for many things. I wasn't loud enough, I wasn't fun enough, people usually didn't ask me to hang out with them (unless it was Alice or Mary, of course). I had my fair share of self-esteem problems, that was for sure.

But mostly, I hated myself for how I felt about Sirius Black, like I could help it. The feeling of his fingers grabbing at my hips sent thoughts through my head that I didn't even imagine I could dream up. I shook them out of my mind quickly, not wanting to dwell on the fact that they were just…dreams.

Sirius Black wasn't my type. He wasn't the serious, future-driven man that I had planned out for me. He was spontaneous and funny. He was ruggedly handsome and downright arrogant. He was the type that would marry someone like Lily or Dorcas- confident, beautiful girls.

Despite all of that, despite having to constantly remind myself of all of these things…the scene that had just played out sealed it in the stars: I liked Sirius Black. I really liked Sirius Black.

And I hated myself for it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Soooo…how did you like that? Gave you a little snippet of semi-romance. I am still loving all the reviews, so keep them coming! **

**Nothing new from me, hope all of you are doing fantastic!**

**Read and enjoy!**

_Haley Brams,_

_Thank you for submitting your application to the French Ministry of Magic's Council of Magical Law in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.  
We are currently reviewing your application, resumes, and interest letter and will get back to you as soon as possible with a follow up interview._

_Director of Magical Law,  
Jacques DuChamps_

I rolled up the scroll of parchment, letting out a slow, deep breath as I did so. My application was submitted, the department got everything they needed. All I had to do was wait. My mother wondered why I would ship myself to a different country to study Magical Law when I could do the same thing in London, but my father understood.

The Ministry of Magic in France had one of the best Council of Magical Law programs in the world. It was incredibly prestigious, only taking the top ten candidates worldwide. It was amazing to me that they even put in the letter a mention of a follow up interview. Over half of the applicants didn't even get that nod.

"What's that you got?" Alice asked as she gestured toward the letter with her head, as her hands were busy cutting up the steak being served for dinner.

I tucked it away in my bag before responding. "Just a note from the French Ministry of Magic telling me that they received my application for the Council of Law program."

Alice's face lit up as she stuffed a piece of meat into her mouth, chewing it quickly. "That's awesome, Haley! Congratulations!"

"What's awesome, Haley?" Sirius glanced over at us, obviously having overheard our brief conversation. My cheeks tinted pink as I looked down at my untouched plate, not knowing quite what to say to Sirius.

It's not like I had been avoiding him, per say, but I had been…careful about his whereabouts these past few days, especially when he wasn't with the Marauders. When he was looking for me, for instance, I made myself scarce in record time.

I don't know what was wrong with me. Ever since the lake scene happened, I had been incredibly shy around Sirius. I didn't know what to say, I didn't know what to do. All I could think about whenever he was around me was the feeling of him brushing the wet hair off my forehead or his fingertips clutching my hips. Then my brain went all fuzzy and I didn't know where to do from there.

And it was even worse for me, because I couldn't stand that feeling. I couldn't stand not knowing what to say or how to act. I was so used to being organized and on top of my game that whenever Sirius was around, he just threw me for a loop.

Luckily, Lily stormed into the Great Hall just in the nick of time. Her face was contorted with rage as she stomped over to the Gryffindor table. "Haley, can you come with me, please?" She asked through as calmly as she could through gritted teeth, though her stance was incredibly defensive.

I nodded my head slowly as I racked my brain, wondering what on Earth I could have done to make her so angry. I followed her from the Great Hall, the other students surveying Lily and me with raised eyebrows and curious expressions.

"What's going on Lily?" I asked quietly as soon as we were out of earshot of the Great Hall. "Is there something that I did, because I honestly don't-"

"No, it isn't something you did," she sighed, collapsing against the stone wall. I stared at her for a moment, worried thoughts trickling through my mind. I had never seen Lily look so dejected before…so, well, upset. She took a deep breath in, clearly debating at how she was going to say what was on her mind. She took another deep breath before blurting out, "I need some advice, because I don't know what to do." She pushed herself off the stone wall, pacing a spot just a few feet in front of me. "I overheard James telling Sirius in the library that he was going to ask Mandy Durbin to Slughorn's Christmas party." She paused to let out a humorless laugh. "Mandy Durbin. And I don't know why it's bothering me so much!"

I let her finish off her rant with a frustrated moan before she collapsed, once again, against the stone wall. She glanced over to me, exhausted from the internal debate she'd been having. I furrowed my brow, sighing as I shrugged my shoulders softly. "I- I really don't know what to say, because I've never been in this situation before and-"

"What's the first thing that comes to your mind though?" She cut me off hurriedly, waving her hands in front of her, "From what I just told you, what is the first thing that pops up in your head?"

"That you evidently have feelings for James and you don't want to see him with anyone else."

She sighed, letting her hands fall to her sides. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

"Listen, I really think Dorcas would be able to help you out more. Even Alice, if you don't want to confide in Dorcas. They are both better at this than I and-" I stopped myself, realization hitting me. "Oh, you thought because I'm closer with Sirius than anyone else that I might have access to James's psyche or something like that, right?"

She cringed, our last argument on the forefront of her mind. "I'm sorry I keep pulling you into this, Haley, but you are just so innocently honest with everything and I couldn't help, but wonder-" She trailed off, playing with a piece of fringe that hung off the bottom of her shirt.

Though she had done the same thing with James and I just a few weeks ago, this time I felt like I honestly wanted to help her. She looked so disheartened and confused that I couldn't leave her in the cold during this time. "Maybe you should talk to James directly? I mean, Sirius and I are kind of on the outs right now and-"

This seemed to perk her up significantly, as she shot her head up, molding her bottle green eyes into a look of surprise. "What do you mean you're on the outs? I didn't know you guys had a fight or anything."

I sighed, taking a few steps so I could collapse on the wall next to her. "I've never, you know, talked about boys with anyone else before..." I trailed off, wondering where to even begin. Lily smiled warmly and gestured for me to go on. I took a deep breath in and blew out my cheeks. "We completed something on my list about a week ago, jumping into the Black Lake. Well, I didn't want to, but he tossed me over his shoulder and jumped in. Anyways, while we were in there, I could have sworn he was going to, you know, kiss me." I paused for a moment, my cheeks burning in mortification, but Lily didn't say anything. She waited patiently for me to finish. "And I broke the whole thing off before it could happen, but ever since then he's all I can think about. It's just…hard, you know?"

Lily smiled in understanding, nodding her head slowly. "Boys are a pain, aren't they?"

I let out a small chuckle, shaking my head. "They really are. I never thought that I would even have these problems and with Sirius Black, of all people-"

"Haley," Lily cut me off, turning her head so she could look at me, "You are a wonderful person, don't doubt yourself."

I smiled a little, sending a grateful look toward her. We both giggled for a moment before going silent once again, this time we watched as the Marauders tumbled out of the Great Hall accompanied by Mandy Durbin, who was tightly bound to James's hip. Sirius seemed to glance around for a moment, but lurched forward to follow James and Remus back up the main staircase. I heard Mandy let out a peel of laughter as their footsteps faded and eventually vanished all together.

Lily sighed, softly banging the back of her head against the stone wall. "What am I going to do?" She groaned, mostly to herself. I didn't answer her, because my thoughts were consumed with the exact same question. What AM I going to do?

…..

The next day was, thankfully, Friday and I was able to sit down in the library and get a few things done before the weekend started. More importantly, before Slughorn's Christmas party the following night. I knew, much like it had been last year, the preparation for it was going to be an all day affair. Now that Lily and I were friends, I could only imagine that would only extend the amount of time needed for the girls to get ready.

Every year I was surprised that I was even invited to the party, since I don't know anyone famous nor did my family invent anything of value. Alice says it because I'm one of the most promising students in the seventh year and it's clear that I'm going somewhere with my life.

Though, Slughorn did invite Sirius and James the year before because of incredibly realistic dragon statue they conjured up to guard the double doors at the front of the castle. Maybe it wasn't so much a compliment to get an invitation to his party.

Every year, though, it was a big soirée. He seemed to get more and more inventive with the themes of his parties as the years went on and I was sure this year would be no different. Just a few days ago, my mother sent me a new dress in the post for the party, even before the invitations had been sent out.

She knew, of course, how important it was for ladies to get in with the right crowds when it came to finding a career. She thought Slughorn's parties were the perfect opportunity for networking and building relationships, but I only saw them as a reason for the students to get as drunk as possible and eat expensive food. Either way, accepting the invitation was something both Alice and my mother made me do every year, so I thought this year would be no exception.

I tapped my quill against my forehead, drumming my foot noiselessly against the library floor. A fifteen inch essay on the effects of an Undetectable expansion charm and another twelve inch essay on Trans-species switches for Transfiguration. The professors were not going easy on us, even though we left for our Christmas vacation in less than a week.

"What are you doing?"

I jumped, slamming my knee against the edge of the wooden table. I glanced over to the person who had scared me, rubbing my knee with tears bunched in my eyes.

Sirius was looking down at me with a worried look on his face. He placed his bag on the floor and pulled out a chair, throwing himself into it.

"Just finishing up some essays," I mumbled, turning my attention from him in hopes that he would go away and I could live the rest of this week without him in my life. Though I wanted him in my life…I was incredibly confused.

"You've been avoiding me," he pointed out, putting his feet on the table as he rested his hands on his stomach, looking over me with raised eyebrows.

"I've just been busy, that's all."

"Yeah, okay," he responded, though his voice was littered with sarcasm and doubt. "Listen, I really came over here because I wanted to ask you something." He paused for a moment, slamming his hand on top of my essay and dragging it toward him so I no longer had the distraction. I sighed, looking up into his gray eyes. He smirked at me. "That's better. Now, I know someone who was trying to find someone to ask to Slughorn's party, so I figured I would run it by you. Remus Lupin."

I rolled my eyes, snatching back my essay before dipping my quill in my inkpot. "That's easy, no."

Sirius sighed, leaning back in his seat. "And why not? You wouldn't even have to ask him, I would get him to ask you. He would sign off on the list, so you would get your checkmark and then he would have a date to the dance. It's a win-win."

I shook my head, not bothering to look up from my essay. "The answer is no, Sirius. I don't want the first time someone asks me out to be from you setting it up. I want it to be genuine."

Sirius snorted, running his fingers through his shaggy, black hair. "Then you should have given yourself longer than up until graduation to finish that list, because you really don't stand a chance on that one."

I looked up at him in disbelief, my jaw dropping in shock. A throbbing hurt ran through my body. I slammed my book shut, stuffing it into my book bag hurriedly. Sirius must have just realized what he said, because he leapt out of his chair once I hitched my bag over my shoulder.

"Come on, Brams, I didn't mean it like that!"

"No Sirius, that's exactly what you meant," I glared up at him, tears stinging my eyes as a golf-ball sized lump grew at the back of my throat, "And you're probably right, but that doesn't mean you get to rudely point it out to me." I shoved past him, making sure to knock my shoulder with his arm. He barely moved, but I didn't notice as I stormed out of the library.

I didn't need to look back, but I knew that I had left Sirius standing by himself in the library. He didn't even bother to follow me out.

I wiped the tears from my eyes just in time for the portrait hole to swing open, revealing Remus and James clambering out of the common room, closely followed by Peter. The small, stout boy looked alarmed at my appearance, but James and Remus brushed it off lightly.

"Go ahead, James, I'll catch up with you two later."

James lightly shoved Peter ahead, who was still trying to glance over his shoulder at me. I crossed my arms over my chest, staring at the ground. "I'm going to hazard a guess and say that Sirius talked to you?" Remus started, gently placing a hand on my shoulder.

I wiped the tears violently from my face and looked up at him. "How did you know that?"

He sighed, removing his hand and letting it hang awkwardly at his side. "Sirius overheard me talking to James about me asking you to Slughorn's party. I really was going to ask you, just as friends of course, as James wouldn't leave me alone about it and you're probably the only girl in our year that I could carry on a conversation with."

I smiled slightly, chuckling softly under my breath. "I guess Sirius beat you to the punch."

Remus shrugged his shoulders, his large jacket falling off his shoulder. He tugged it back into place, but not before I noticed a few large scars that extended from the top of his shoulder to his collarbone. I almost asked about them, but I quickly stopped myself. I certainly wasn't close enough to him to be asking about scars. Plus, he may be self-conscious about them. I know I certainly would be.

Then I got a better look at him. His brown hair hung lankily in his face, dark bags popped up under his eyes. He looked incredibly tired, more so than I was used to seeing him. I furrowed my brow in concern before asking him if he was okay.

"Oh, yeah, yeah just getting a cold I think," he said quickly, brushing off my unease. "Back to you. I know that Sirius was a bit tactless in his approach and, between you and I, I think he knew that if he brought it up, you would say no to me asking. I just wanted you to know that I was planning on asking you to accompany me, even before Sirius had to be…well, Sirius about it."

He made a motion to move around me, but I quickly blocked it. "Wait, what do you mean that you think I would have said no if he asked for you?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders, rolling his eyes. "I don't know, Haley. This is Sirius we're talking about. I've been best friends with the kid for six years and I still wouldn't be able to tell you the inter-workings of his mind. That's just a feeling that I have."

I rocked back and forth on my heels for a moment before taking a deep breath in. "You know, if your offer was still on the table…I don't have anyone to go with. Being in your company for the last Slughorn Christmas party wouldn't be such a bad thing."

He grinned at me, though it didn't quite reach his tired eyes. "That would be great, Haley. I'll meet you in the common room around eight."

I smiled up at him. "Thanks, Remus, for clearing it up with me. I feel much bet-" I was cut off suddenly by a shriek that echoed down the hallway. Remus and I glanced at each other, wide eyed, before taking off in the direction of the noise.

There, in the most unusual of scenes before me, I saw James cowering against the wall with a bat-bogey hex clearly splattered on his face. Lily, who looked infuriated, was pointing her wand at him.

"Oh, this is not good," I muttered, taking a few steps forward, but Remus caught my arm and held me back.

"Just wait, I want to see where this is going."

I fell into place beside him, contemplating the head boy and girl with raised eyebrows.

"You've only asked me to Slughorn's party every time since second year!" Lily growled as she took a few steps forward, her wand still pointed at the Potter boy. "And now that I actually wanted to go with you, you've been on the prowl with someone else in mind!"

James straightened up, clearing the bat-bogeys off his glasses with a quick swish of his wand. "You want to go with me?"

Lily let out a humorless laugh. "Merlin, how thick are you? I've only been planting hints every night we patrol together for the last two weeks!"

He sauntered forward, gently grabbing Lily's wrist and lowering her wand to her side. She obliged with no arguments as he took a few steps closer to her, closing in the gap between them. "Lily Evans, will you go to Slughorn's Christmas party with me?"

"Hell, not now!" Lily snorted, ripping her wrist from James's hand. "You should have thought of that first hand. I'm not going to be a second choice because Mandy-"

James cut her off quickly by slamming his lips down onto hers. My jaw dropped in shock as I readied my wand. Clearly I was going to have to keep Lily from decapitating James. What happened next shocked me even more.

As the two broke apart, Lily stumbled forward slightly, evidently still not ready to stop the kiss. James rested his forehead onto hers. "How about now? Will you go with me now?"

Lily slowly nodded her head. "I-I think my schedule just freed up. I-I probably can go with you."

James smiled widely as he bent down to kiss Lily once more, only this time, I turned away with a small smile on my face. Lily, it seemed, had gotten exactly what she asked for.


	14. Chapter 14

**WHAT?! IS THIS REAL LIFE?! OVER 100 REVIEWS?! You, my fine readers, are way too good to me. I can't even believe me. The alerts and reviews kept coming into my email and I had this goofy smile on my face the rest of the weekend. You are utterly amazing. I can't begin to describe it. Keep it up, because I sure love it!**

**This one ends at a cliffhanger, so don't kill me. Part two of this will be out soon!**

**As always, read and enjoy!**

I spent much of the morning and part of the afternoon doing my absolute favorite thing- curled up in bed with a book. My head was supported by four different pillows and I had quite a few blankets piled onto my lap. According to my roommates, the weather outside was gorgeous. Thick snowflakes fell gracefully from the sky, coating the grounds in a blanket of white.

It was my absolute favorite time of the year. The holiday season.

Alice and Mary spent most of the morning running around the dormitory trying to find something to wear to Slughorn's Christmas party. This was about the time I thanked God for my mother, as she had already sent everything I needed in a neat little package that I had hidden under my bed.

"Aren't you going to get ready?" Lily asked, shaking me out of my thoughts. I smiled up at her, gesturing down to my book.

"I'm getting there. We still have three hours until the party even starts."

Alice collapsed onto my bed, shaking a roll of parchment out of my bag. "If I remember correctly, which I do, because I was the one that wrote it down," she started, unrolling the list with one hand as she held her wand in the other, slowly curling each lock of her brown hair into perfect ringlets. "You have to something to complete before the party starts."

She set the parchment onto the book I was reading, pointing out number 28. I groaned, letting my head fall back against the pillows.

"Do I have to do it now? I just got to the good part in this book!"

Alice shook her head, sending me a wide grin. "That book will be here when you get back, besides you've already read it at least four times." She paused, surveying me with hawk-like eyes. "Term ends in two days, so you have to be finish this today."

She was right, of course. I really wouldn't have time after the party, since I would be busy trying to pack my things and organizing my brother into his Christmas vacation as well. I sighed quietly before ripping the blankets off my lap, sliding my feet onto the cool wooden floorboards.

I grabbed a sweatshirt and tossed it over my tank top before jamming my feet into a pair of ratty sneakers that I usually reserved for cleaning and wearing outside in the muddy weather.

"I'll be back soon!" I said, grabbing the parchment off my bed and rolling it into a tight scroll. I jogged down the stairs, squeezing by a pair of fifth year girls who hadn't noticed me coming down, before landing in the common room.

Sirius sat in the corner flicking his wand at something on the table. He turned it from a fork to a spoon to a knife to a pencil to a tiny broomstick to a mouse and back again. He always impressed me with his magical skills and I almost took a step toward him to say something, but then I remembered that we weren't really talking anymore. I still hadn't gotten over what he had said to me in the library and he still hadn't gotten over how I stormed away, leaving him in my trail of dust.

Unfortunately, I lingered at the base of the stairs for a moment too long, as James spotted me just as I was about to head out of the common room.

"Oy, Haley! What are you doing?"

I watched as Sirius fumbled with his wand, nearly dropping it at the sound of my name. I ignored him as I turned to look at James, who was seated across from Sirius at the round table the four Marauders usually claimed.

I held the roll of parchment into the air. "Going to get one done before Christmas break starts."

James hopped out of his seat, making his way through the crowd toward me. "I thought you would be getting ready in the dorm with all the other girls."

I glanced around the common room, surprised to realize that I hadn't noticed it before. The common room was packed with boys of all ages, save for the few first year girls that lingered near the fireplace, evidently unsure of where to go. "No, it doesn't take me that long to get ready," I countered, crossing my arms over my chest, "I have to get one thing on my list done today otherwise I won't have time before the break begins."

James tottered back and forth on his heels before responding. "Do you mind if I tag along?"

I shrugged in response, slowly shaking my head. James grinned easily down at me before gesturing toward the portrait hole.

"I'm surprised that you didn't say anything to Sirius," I broke the silence as we both clambered out of the common room. The fat lady swung shut behind us. "Won't he be wondering where you went off to?"

James smirked. "Funny that you bring up Sirius, because that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

I furrowed my brow, glancing up at him out of the corner of my eye. "What do you mean?"

He shook his head, a slight smirk on his face. "He's all torn up, Haley. He won't admit it, but I think he really misses you." He paused, turning his head to survey me. "Will you just talk to him already? I know he can be kind of a twat sometimes-"

I interrupted him with a snort, but he chugged on with the conversation.

"-But he means well. I just want the two of you to be back to normal. You know, going out, doing things together."

I shook my head, a smile playing on my lips. "You just want to spend some more time with Lily, but you feel bad because Sirius is your best friend and I'm fighting with him right now."

James shrugged casually. "That could be it too. You never really know."

I sighed, kicking at a loose stone in the hallway. "Aren't you at all curious as to what you're going to sign me off on?" I asked, changing the subject. James seemed to understand my want to talk about something else, because he didn't press it.

"I must admit, I have been kind of curious."

"Evidently I need to convince a first year that the tree ate someone a few years back." I scrunched up my nose, shaking my head with laughter. "I don't even know how I'm going to do that."

James didn't say anything as we entered the Great Hall. Twelve Christmas trees were twinkling just behind the head table. Fairy lights and snow coated the trees, sending sparkling lights shimmering into every corner of the dimly lit hall. Icicles hung off the thicker branches of the trees, creating an outdoorsy look that could only be pulled off in the Great Hall.

Students of every age were gathered around the base of the trees, playing games and reading magazines in small groups. The house tables were also intermittently scattered with students, most of which were older students who didn't want to sit near the younger students.

James grabbed a hold of my shoulders and spun me around. I faced the corner of the Hall, where a small boy was reaching up and touching the icicles, a look of wonder shining brightly from his eyes.

"That's your target," James said, rubbing my shoulders as if I were a wrestler in the corner of the ring about to fight in a match, "After hanging out with Sirius for so long, I'm not going to give you any advice. Get out there, Tiger." With that, he shoved me forward. I stumbled over my own feet, turning back to glare at him for a moment.

I took a deep breath, swallowing the feeling that I was going to completely destroy this boy's Christmas spirit. Just as he reached up to touch another icicle, I quickly jogged forward, swatting his hand away from the tree. He looked up at me in alarm, his brown eyes set wide against his caramel colored skin.

I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest. "That was really a close call. You shouldn't be touching the Christmas trees."

He turned to look up at me, a look of sarcasm on his small features. "And why not? Is the Boogey Man going to come out and get me if I do?"

I shook off his retort, thoroughly confused since I didn't know who the Boogey Man even was, and went on. "We recommend not touching the trees anymore." I paused, shrugging my shoulders casually before stuffing my hands in my pockets. "Especially after what happened to Jimmy Whitley." I turned around slowly, about to leave the boy at the tree when he reached out and grabbed onto my forearm.

I gave myself a mental pat on the back. Maybe Sirius's influence WAS rubbing off on…nope, I'm not going to think about him.

The first year narrowed his eyes before crossing his arms over his chest. "Who was Jimmy Whitley?"

I turned back to look at him, a look of faux concern coating my face. "I'm not sure if you're ready to hear the story-"

The boy snorted, tightening the hold of his arms across his chest. "Oh, I'm ready. Spill it."

I was slightly taken aback by the boy's determination and persistence, since I would have never even thought about talking to a seventh year like that when it was my first year. I almost turned back to look at James for a confirming nod of approval, but stopped myself. I needed to do this- it was my own personal challenge.

I sighed dramatically. "Jimmy Whitley was a second year while I was a fifth year. We warned him not to touch the trees, but…" I paused, lowering my head and shaking it slowly. "As soon as he grabbed a hold of that sparkling red Christmas bulb…the tree ate him."

The boy's expression quickly turned from one of intrigue to one of instant doubt. "It ate him," he responded in a deadpan tone.

I nodded my head slowly, pursing my lips in a convincing matter. "Swallowed him whole. The only thing they ever found of him was an ear. They sent it back with his parents. It's now buried in Cornwall next to his uncle."

He scoffed, clearly not buying my story. "I don't believe you. The tree wouldn't have swallowed him whole."

I shrugged my shoulders again, taking a few steps backward. "Don't believe me then. That's fine, but I did see it play out with my own eyes." I paused, looking up at the tree with respect. "And if you want to continue your actions of touching the tree, be my guest. But you can't say that I didn't warn you." I trailed off ominously, leaving the boy standing at the foot of the tree with a look of apprehension on his face.

As I turned to look over my shoulder, I couldn't help but notice that the boy had scooted quite a few feet from the tree and was staring at it wearily.

I grinned at James as I turned the corner out of the Great Hall. I jumped up to high five him and he immediately signed off on the checklist.

"That was…wow, Haley did you see the look on the kid's face?" He let out a hoot of laughter. "I think you just ruined his entire holiday." He paused to throw an arm over my shoulder, leading me toward the Grand Staircase. "You have imagination, that's for sure. We need to find a good use for it."

My heart beat against my rib cage as I climbed the stairs. The grin that covered my lips wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I completed this task…by myself, no help whatsoever. I felt pumped. I felt accomplished.

Okay, it's the small things in life that matter, right?

…

I managed to get ready for Slughorn's party within the nick of time. Thankfully, Lily and Alice had been ready for quite some time and were able to hurry along the hair and makeup process. My usual messy, blonde hair fell in neat curls down my back. My brown eyes were surrounded by a smoky eyeshadow that Mary's sister from back home had sent her to borrow for the holidays. The tight black dress my mother sent clung to my waist and hips, accentuating my curves in all the right ways.

I glanced at myself in the mirror, floored by the girl that stared back at me.

"You look fantastic," Alice squealed as she squeezed my shoulders affectionately. "Tonight, Slughorn's party. Tomorrow, on our way home for our last Christmas vacation ever." She lightly tugged on the silver necklace her boyfriend Frank had given her for Valentine's Day that year. I snaked an arm around her waist and gave her a light squeeze. She had really been missing Frank this year.

Mary hurried out of the bathroom, pushing us toward the dorm room door in excitement. I stumbled over Lily, managing to balance myself by clutching onto her shoulders just as the four of us nearly tumbled into the hallway leading to the staircase.

Lily took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked beautiful, but I knew she was nervous. I grasped her hand and held onto it for a moment before letting go. She smiled at me softly, nodding her head in gratitude.

I managed the walk down the stairs; despite the tall heels that Alice forced on my feet after threatening to put them there with a permanent sticking charm. I originally wanted to wear the shoes that my mother had sent for me, but the girls were having none of that.

I glanced around the Common Room, looking to see where Remus was seated. To my surprise, he wasn't with the other three Marauders and I furrowed my brow in concern. James leapt up as Lily sidled around me, the grin on her lips nearly splitting her face. James nearly knocked over Peter in his haste to cross the room, but Sirius steadied him just before he toppled to the ground.

I managed to stifle a grin. Poor Peter, always had the short end of the stick.

I tore my eyes from James and Lily, hoping to see Remus somewhere in the common room. I felt a light tap on my shoulder just as my eyes finishing scanning. I turned to look over my shoulder, my heart sinking into my stomach when I realized that Sirius had managed to slide by Peter and make his way over to me.

"Remus got really sick and he's unable to escort you to Slughorn's pary," he explained, rocking back and forth on his heels. "I would be more than happy to take you instead. Really, Haley, I-"

I shook my head quickly, taking a few steps back. "I think I would rather go by myself." I took a couple steps toward the portrait hole, my intentions now were to follow Alice and Mary to the party. The two had opted to go together, since Alice couldn't invite Frank and Mary didn't find anyone to go with. I was bummed that Remus was sick, but he couldn't help it and neither could I. Time for Plan B.

I managed to put a small distance between myself and Sirius before he lunged forward and grabbed onto my forearm. I whipped around, a glare on my face as I prepared to rip my arm from his grasp. James and Lily looked at each other just in time, scooting from the common room as fast as Lily's high-heel clad feet could carry her.

"Come on, Brams," Sirius said, disappointment littering his tone, "I'm really sorry about what I said. It was mean and rude and uncalled for. Can we just…go to the party and have a good time? I promise I'll be on my best behavior." He placed his hand at his forehead in a salute, making sure to stand up as straight as he could.

I couldn't suppress a giggle at this point. Sirius, unfortunately, always knew how to make me laugh. "You really do owe me one," I said as I accepted the elbow he held out for me. I wound my arm through his, shaking my head at my own stupidity. Why was it that I couldn't stay mad at Sirius for any large amount of time?

As he led me out of the common room and toward Slughorn's office, I couldn't help but notice that he had looked particularly handsome that evening. He managed to tame his wild black hair, much to the jealousy of James Potter, I was sure. His gray eyes matched perfectly with the deep gray dress robes that he wore. Even in my tall heels, he still had six inches of height on me.

"I thought you would have had a date by now," I commented as we made our way slowly, but surely through the dark corridors. The lanterns were dimly lit, but they barely provided a light source that we could rely on. The full moon shone outside brighter through the hallways than the lanterns did.

Sirius shrugged. "In the back of my mind, I was still hoping you would go with me, I guess," he responded with a quick wink. At that point, I was happy the lights were so dim, as my face had flushed a deep pink.

The music from the party bumped through the halls as we got closer, my grip tightened on Sirius's arm out of nerves. He kept his promise to be a gentleman, however, and decided not to say anything about me cutting off the circulation to his hand.

Slughorn had really outdone himself this year. He opted for deep purple curtains that draped across the ceiling, creating a middle-eastern royalty feel. Beautiful white lanterns with intricate designs coating the glass hung suspended in mid-air, shining brightly through the sheer purple fabric. Witches and wizards of all ages congregated in the large room, sipping on drinks and puffing on long, wooden pipes.

The students stuck together, despite their housing differences, as no one wanted to be singled out by a witch or wizard invited into the castle by the potion's professor. I followed Sirius through the crowd, clinging to his arm tightly as he pushed through the students toward the beverage table.

"You want something to drink?" he nearly yelled in my ear since the music was turned up so loud. I gave him a thumb up and he gestured that he would be right back. He pushed his way through the crowd again, disappearing amongst the students.

"I would stay away from him if I were you."

I whipped around, surprised that someone had snuck so close to talk in my ear. I wriggled away, shivers going down my spine as the breath crawled over my skin like a thousand spiders. I furrowed my brow as the boy stepped out of the shadows.

"What do you mean?" I asked, checking around the room for Sirius. I couldn't imagine that he would be too excited to see me chatting up his estranged brother.

Regulus shrugged, a nasty look on his face. "He is in a bad place with my family. He isn't going anywhere in life. He lost his status in society. You should really consider-"

"Oy! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sirius pushed through the crowd faster than I thought possible, nearly spilling the two drinks on a third year boy who happened to be in the way at the time. I reached forward and grabbed the two drinks quickly. A small amount of liquid splashed onto the top of my hand, instantly making it sticky.

Sirius must have sent out a telepathic message, as James appeared with Lily at his side less than five seconds later.

"Just telling her the truth, Sirius," Regulus went on, looking up at his brother with a smirk on his lips. "That you're nothing, you'll amount to nothing, you'll never have anything-"

James intervened quickly, jumping in front of Sirius to calm him down. In all my years of…er…observing Sirius, I had never seen him so angry in my life. He looked scary…almost murderous.

"I'll amount to more than you will," Sirius shouted, nearly jumping over James to get at his brother, "the one who will be nothing is you, you damn Death Eater."

My eyes widened as I glanced around the room. The two Black brothers were starting to draw attention, something that I'm sure this conversation didn't warrant. I looked back up at Sirius, who now had the smirk on his face, taunting his brother. "You didn't think I would find out, did you? Mummy and daddy's pride and joy." He paused to let out a humorless laugh. "I refuse to work for a so-called Dark Lord who kills families and feeds their children to werewolves. I hope he kills you, I hope you do something so bad that he turns you to the inferi instead."

James pushed his best friend back, but Sirius quickly ripped out of James's grasp. In a desperate attempt to fix the situation, I forced the drinks into Lily's hands and hopped in front of Sirius as he made another move to attack his brother. I placed my hands on his chest, shoving him just enough so I had his attention.

He immediately simmered down, looking down at me with wild eyes. His breathing was heavy and I could still tell that he was out of his element, but at least he wasn't going on a murdering rampage. At least in this moment.

"Let's just get out of here, okay?" I said quietly, cupping his cheek in my hand. I started to turn him around and, once James realized what I was doing, he jumped in and helped. As James and Lily led Sirius through the crowd, which had gone quiet due to the fight that had nearly broken out, I turned over my shoulder to glance at Regulus once more.

He was staring at me, his dark gray eyes were not filled with joy and laughter as Sirius's usually were. Instead, they were empty…angry… "Just remember what I said, Haley Brams. You're choosing the wrong side," he said before whipping around and pushing through the crowd, luckily going the opposite direction of his brother.

His words cut me to the core, sending shivers down my back. I pushed them out of my mind, shoving through the crowd just in time to see Sirius down two shots of firewhiskey before pouring himself a third. He held out to me and I took in gingerly. His poured a fourth shot, holding it high in the air in a toast before downing the shot in one fell swoop.

I followed his lead, cringing slightly as the burning feeling ran down my throat. Sirius seemed appeased, however, as he poured two more shots and handed me one of them.

"This one goes to James, who nearly had his head taken off by a mean old dog," Sirius said, a small grin appearing on his face, signaling to me that he would be okay. He held the shot in the air as another toast before throwing it down the hatch.

I followed suit, once again, not wanting to upset him anymore than he already was.

…..

As the night wore on, I steadily drank more and more. Sirius, who had been feeding them to me throughout the night, finally whipped out the list (I was still determined to figure out how he kept getting it from me) and signed off on number 5- Get rip-roaring drunk.

"Two in one day," I managed to slur out as I threw an arm casually around Alice's shoulder. Alice, who had come to join us after Mary left the party with a seventh year Ravenclaw, was more than surprised to see my level of intoxication. Nonetheless, she didn't seem to be upset at Sirius. In my opinion, I think she was happy that I had finally let loose. "That is an accomplishment. That is something to celebrate!"

I snatched the full shot glass from Sirius's hand and downed it quickly. The burn that had been so prevalent in the beginning was only a fading memory. Now, the firewhiskey could go down like water.

"Come on, guys! Celebrate with me!" I smiled widely at Sirius, who only chuckled and took another shot.

"Atta boy!" I giggled, leaving Alice's side to snake my arm around Sirius's waist. Was it just me and the alcohol or did his heart rate pick up tremendously as soon as I touched him? No matter… "You know, I never really liked you all the much until seventh year." I paused, glancing up at Sirius, who had a pleased expression on his face. "I kind of thought you were a twat."

"Ooookay," Alice said, sidling over to me, quickly removing my arm from Sirius's waist. "We should probably get you back to the common room. Don't you think, Lily?"

Lily nodded hesitantly, peering up at James as if asking for permission. He smiled softly down at her, nodding for her to go ahead.

"Sirius and I were going to pick up Peter, wherever he went, and swing by to see Remus. I'll meet you in common room later, okay?"

Lily smiled widely as she placed a helpful hand around my waist, almost carrying me toward Slughorn's office door. Alice grunted as I placed my full weight around her neck, nearly pulling her down to the stone ground.

"Bye, Sirius and James!" I slurred out, tumbling over myself to scramble back up to my feet. "Tell Remus I said hello!"

The two boys saluted me as we left the party and I couldn't help but giggle. Those two…always making me laugh. I skipped ahead of Lily and Alice, whirling and twirling through the hallways, my high heels dangling dangerously off the tips of my fingers, as I watched my dress flare out to my sides.

Alice chuckled as she joined me, spinning next to me with her arms extended out as she whooped and yelled in excitement.

"Shhh, you two are going to wake the entire castle!" Lily reprimanded us, but only half-heartedly. She grinned at our silliness as we made our way through the darkened, quiet hallways. Every noise we made bounced loudly off the stone walls, creating echoes that reverberated through the corridors.

I halted in a dead stop, my eyes wandering to a statue that seemed so familiar to me. My face split into a smirk, turning to my two best friends with a look of mischief in my eyes. "I have an idea!" I whipped out my wand, tapping the hump of the one-eyed witch while murmuring the enchantment. The hump sprang open, revealing the stone slide that I was so hesitant on going down last time.

Alice's jaw dropped open as she took a few steps forward, staring at the passageway with awe. "How did you find out about this?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "James showed me when he went to get more alcohol for Sirius's party. Pretty nifty, right?"

Lily stood back a few feet, clearly torn between wanting to discover what lay on the other side and wanting to stick to her duties as Head Girl. I pulled out the list Sirius had forked over earlier in the night, unrolling the scroll dramatically in my hands.

"I say, the third time's a charm!" I exclaimed as I pointed excitedly to one of the numbers on the list. "And if I can get three signed off in one night, that would completely make my Christmas break." I rolled up the parchment, sticking into the back of my dress for safe keeping. I dumped my heels down the slide, where they landed with a soft clunk on the dirt floor at the bottom.

I clutched onto the witch's hump, getting ready to throw myself down the hatch, just as I turned to glance at the two girls behind me. "Well, what are you waiting for? Someone has to come witness this!"

Lily and Alice exchanged unsure looks before turning their attention back toward me.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Alice asked, doubt littering her tone. "I mean, you've really had a lot to drink and-"

"Oh, its fine," I reasoned with her, waving a hand erratically, "this leads to Honeydukes, we sneak out of there, and then we head to the Shrieking Shack."

Lily appeared taken aback as she stared at me. "The Shrieking Shack?"

I let go of my clutch on the witch's hump, nearly losing my balance as I did so, and threw the piece of parchment toward Lily. It didn't quite reach, but it fluttered to the stone floor between us. She picked up the parchment, gingerly scanning it as I tottered on the heels of my feet.

"Number sixteen, break into the Shrieking Shack." With that, I clutched onto the hump once again and threw myself down the stone slide, the breeze blowing back my curly hair as I let go of all my cares in the world.


	15. Chapter 15

**I wasn't going to put this up until tomorrow or Thursday, but since you have all been so wonderful with leaving reviews and alerts, I thought I would put it out a bit early for you! Think of it has the BIGGEST thank you I could give and I really hope you continue with all the awesome reviews!**

**I'm going to make a quick side note! I know that JK Rowling said that the only way into the Shrieking Shack was through the tunnel that the Whomping Willow sat on top of. However, for the purpose of my story, Sirius and James figured out a way to crack a window. I mentioned it a few chapters back. Just so you're aware…I'm aware that isn't exactly "by the book." But anyways….**

**Read and enjoy!**

My feet hit the dirt at the bottom of the stone slide. I tumbled off, scraping my knees on a few of the rocks that were scattered on the ground. I popped up, stumbling a bit, but managing to catch my balance on the rugged stone that lined the walls of the tunnel.

"Haley? Haley, are you okay?"

I gave the two girls a thumbs up before realizing that they couldn't, in fact, actually see me. "Come on down here! I'm fine!" I picked up my high heeled shoes, swinging them around by the straps. "Let's go, ladies! We have things to do!"

I heard a few sentences of mumbling before one of the girls clutched onto the stone slide and slid down, landing much more graceful than I on the dirt ground. Alice stood up, dusting the dirt from the back of her dress.

"Where's Lily?" I asked, furrowing my brow. Just before Alice opened her mouth to respond, Lily sped down the slide, landing in a pile at the base of the stone. "Ah ha! All my ladies are here…" I paused, pointing down the dark tunnel. "On we go."

As I walked down the tunnel, using my hand on the wall to keep my balance, Alice and Lily followed behind me hesitantly. "This is a really bad idea," Alice mumbled, but I ignored her, continuing our trek onward.

We managed to get halfway through the tunnel, just to the point when it expanded just enough for us to stand side-by-side, when Lily stopped and grabbed onto my arm, twisting it in a way that forced me to turn around. "Haley, we can't go on with this," she said, a pleading look in her eye. "We could get in serious trouble. Sneaking out of the castle, breaking into Shrieking Shack? We could get caught-"

I laughed, pulling my arm from her grasp. "Oh, Lily, don't be such a spoil sport. We're only going to have a bit of fun."

Lily took a few steps back, shaking her head nervously. "I'm sorry, I can't be a part of this. We can go back to the castle and have fun, but this isn't fun for me. I feel on the verge of a panic attack. I'm going back. Alice?"

Alice looked between the two of us, going back and forth as if surveying an intense tennis match, before sighing and shaking her head. "It is on her list, Lily. And we'll be really careful."

Lily nodded, but decided against arguing. "I'll wait up for you two then." With that, she turned on her heel and clunked down the passageway, ducking just as the tunnel's ceiling dipped down to the top of her head. I watched her go for a moment, sad that I wouldn't get to share this experience with her.

I glanced over to Alice, who was clearly debating following Lily herself, before clearing my throat. "You can go with her, if you want."

Alice smiled lightly and shook her head. "I'm going with you. Who else is going to sign you off on the list?" I grinned at her, gesturing with my head for her to follow on.

And she did.

Quite a few minutes later, we landed just at the base of the iron latter that led into the basement of Honeydukes. Alice looked up at it in awe, her jaw dropping as she surveyed the trap door above us. "How did James even find this?" she whispered, her voice echoing through the tunnel despite how quiet she was trying to be.

I shrugged my shoulders, grasping onto one of the iron rungs that jutted out from the stone wall. It was cool to the touch, much cooler than I expected. I shimmied up the ladder, slowly opening the trap door that led to the basement of the candy shop. All was quiet and unmoving, almost eerily quiet. I poked my head out of the door before forcing it open the rest of the way, letting it rest just open enough so Alice and I could squeeze our way through.

Behind me, Alice had begun to climb the ladder, so I pulled myself out of the tunnel, landing in a heap on the dusty floor. Alice glanced around, her eyes as wide as tea saucers, before closing the hatch behind us.

"We just broke into Honeydukes," she said, clearly trying to keep the alarm and panic from her voice. I quickly shushed her, pointing down the old, wooden stairs that led up to the main floor of the shop. "Don't shush me! We just broke into-" I quickly cut her off by placing a hand over her mouth. She licked it and it took all of me to not let out a shriek. I glared at her, but she only sent a smirk back in response.

I tottered up the wooden staircase, wincing every time the boards creaked against our weight. We managed to make it to the top, sneaking quietly through the aisles of candy as we moved toward the door. I held the bell in my hand as we slowly clicked the lock open and forced the door open, which was harder than expected against the December winds.

As the door slammed shut behind us, accidently jangling the bells that hung from the knob, I pulled out my wand and locked it once again, just in case the owners came down from their apartment above the shop. I turned to Alice, who had been holding her breath, and grabbed onto her shoulders, shaking them slightly. "We made it!" I said, a wide grin on my lips. She mirrored me, letting her breath out in a long, slow exhale.

"I cannot believe we made it through Honeydukes," she whispered as we crept through the dark street, sticking close to the walls of the other stores in order to avoid the street lights that hovered in the middle of the pathway.

"I knew it wouldn't have been a problem," I responded, though my heart was beating frantically against my rib cage. We were only halfway there; the hard part hadn't even come yet. We slunk past The Three Broomsticks, which was packed with older bar-goers and heavy with smoke from the pipes they all puffed on. Rosmerta was busy behind the counter, making drinks and shelling out change quicker than I could process.

Alice and I began the climb to the Shrieking Shack, where it sat atop one of the taller hills in the village. My heart began to beat even more erratically, sweat pooled at the base of my neck, despite the chill winds blowing against my bare legs. My dress whipped around me, cracking against the airstream like a flag in a thunderstorm.

I just managed to peek at the top of the shack when we heard it. The most God-awful, bone chilling sound that I had ever heard in my life. Howls, growls, and screams echoed from the Shack, sounds that I had never thought I would hear and wish I could never hear again.

Alice and I immediately looked at each other, our eyes wide with terror as something from within the Shack pounded against the walls. More shrieks and howls echoed across the hill, reverberating down into the village.

"Are-are you sure you still want to do this?" Alice asked, raising her voice slightly so I could hear her over the noises emitting from the rickety building. Just as she finished her question, the howling stopped, leaving an eerie silence in its wake.

I dropped my high heels at the peak of the hill before grasping onto the fence, wrapping my fingers around the old wood. I stared at the house for a moment, narrowing my eyes in an attempt to see more clearly through the dusty windows. There was no movement from within the house, no sound at all.

"Yes, let's go."

I lifted my leg, settling my bare foot onto the first wooden plank before hoisting myself over the fence. Next to me read the WARNING: DANGER, NO TRESSPASSING sign, but I completely ignored it as I dropped down into the frozen grass on the other side of the fence. The snow was thinner on this side of the hill, but I barely noticed the cold against my feet as I slowly made my way toward the shack.

Behind me, I heard Alice drop down with an audible 'humph' as she tumbled onto the ground.

I crept up to the house, running my hand against the splintered wood that coated the exterior. Maybe it was just me, but the shack sent chills down my spine. It felt…alive, almost. As if it were holding a secret that wasn't meant to be told.

Alice grabbed onto my hand, squeezing tightly as I continued to trek along the side of the building, seeking out the window that Sirius had mentioned a few weeks ago.

"This is it," I muttered as I took out my wand. I murmured a few spells that I could think of off the top of my head, waving my wand at the large window at the same time. Fortunately, it worked, as the window popped open in the sill, giving enough room for a large man to fit through.

I blew out my cheeks, glancing over my shoulder to Alice, who was staring at the crevice with wide-eyed fear. "Are you ready?" I asked her, running my eyes over her features, which were lit up due to the full moon that had settled high in the night sky. She paused before nodding her head, gesturing me forward.

I took another deep breath, placing my barefoot onto the wooden floor boards and lifting myself into the house, using the windowsill to keep my balance. I pulled Alice up with me and we clutched close to each other, surveying the interior of the shack.

The view of the room before me alone almost sent me running back toward the castle. A bed was nestled in the corner of the room, coated in a thick blanket of dust. The curtains that surrounded the four-poster were shredded, torn down by what appeared to be a large set of claws. There was a chair in the corner that was nearly ripped in half, the legs of it were bitten down to a mere toothpick size. I doubt it would have held my weight if I sat down in it.

This still didn't account for the dresser that was completely ripped apart, the portraits that hung loose from the wall, and the wallpaper that spiraled down from even the topmost part of the room.

The house was quiet…too quiet. The voice in the pit of my stomach was screaming for me to turn from the house and never look back, but my thoughts were still muddled from the alcohol, so I took a few steps forward instead. The floorboards creaked beneath my bare feet, sending tufts of dust floating into the air around us.

Alice clutched at my arm. "Come on, Haley, we've broken in already. Let's just go." The pleading tone her voice took on told me that her gut feeling was begging her to leave too.

I brushed off her arm, gesturing to her for a moment. "Just one minute. We've already here. I just want to look around."

I crept to the other side of the room, opening the door slowly against the broken hinges. I peeked into the hallway just in time to see a large brown rat scuttle across the dusty floor and into another room down the corridor. I nearly screeched at the sight, but managed to keep it in.

I turned around, smiling widely at Alice, who was still huddling nervously toward the window. "Come on, Alice. It's fine. Just a rat." I lunged forward, grabbing onto her wrist and forcing her deeper into the house. She pulled her arm from my grasp and wrapped them across her chest, but still continued to follow me. Feeling a bit more adventurous, I bounded into another room in the house, throwing out my hands and spinning around.

"Alice, see? We did it, we officially broke into the Shrieking Shack. I told you it wouldn't be so-"

The look of sheer terror on her face immediately broke me off. She was glancing at my hipline, her eyes wide with fear. I slowly turned around, my heart beating rampantly against my rib cage. A large, black dog stood directly behind me.

Its teeth were bared, its hackles raised high off its neck. It growled menacingly, clearly upset that we had crossed into its territory. That, however, wasn't the only problem.

A movement at the corner of my eye sent my head whipping to the right. I fell against the wall in shock, my legs completely forgetting how to move at that moment. Because there, blocking the only way out of the house, was a werewolf.

Up until that point, I had never seen one in person. Sometimes, if you're listening close enough, you can hear the howls echoing through the forest on the night of a full moon. And at that very moment, I never wanted to see another werewolf again.

It took a few steps toward me, its lip raised high into its cheeks. Large fangs the size of fingers were bared down at me. Dark, black eyes stared directly into mine, clearly calculating how exactly it was going to rip me to shreds.

And at then, I understood. It wasn't ghouls or ghosts or angry spirits that inhabited the Shrieking Shack. It was a werewolf.

It threw back its head, howling loudly at the ceiling. Its voice echoed throughout the house, shaking the loose portraits and rattling the windows in their frames. That was the noise Alice and I had heard as we stood at the top of the hill. I kicked myself for not realizing what it was. I kicked myself for dragging Alice into a shack with a…werewolf.

The black dog lunged forward, barking and growling erratically between us. I closed my eyes, huddling against the wall in alarm. This was it. This was how I was going to die. But when the bite from the large dog didn't come and the growls continued, I peeked through narrowed slits.

The dog wasn't barking at me. It wasn't on the verge of attacking me. It was challenging the werewolf, jamming it into the far corner of the room. As far away from me as it could get it.

"Alice? Alice, look at me."

My head whipped to the left and I was able to see far enough into the corridor to see exactly what was going on.

Alice's eyes widened, not in fear, but in shock. "James? James, oh Merlin, what are you doing in here? You have to get out- there's a werewolf in here and-"

"Alice," he said in as calm a voice as he could muster, "Alice, you need to listen to me. You need to follow me very slowly and very quietly, okay? Just follow me and everything will be okay."

Alice shook her head quickly, clutching at the wall in fright. "No, no I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't leave Haley in there alone!"

James twisted around, finally noticing me for the first time. He grimaced as he studied the scene before him. Me, stuck in a room, with a rabid dog and a werewolf. He blew out his cheeks, his face losing whatever blood he had left.

"Okay, listen to me, Haley. You need to get out of that room."

I shook my head. My legs jittered, knocking my knees together as I nearly collapsed to the floor. I couldn't handle this. I was going to die. I was going to die at the hands of a werewolf.

"Padfoot, keep him at bay, I need to get her out of there."

I furrowed my brow, wondering why in the world James was calling the dog Padfoot. Not even a split second later, the dog turned its head to look back at us. Gray eyes caught mine before it returned its attention to the werewolf at hand, barking and growling at it. I realized I recognized those gray eyes. I saw them in class, I saw them during our checklist rendezvous together. I saw them in my sleep.

Sirius Black was the shaggy, black dog challenging the large werewolf in the corner.

The shock of it all rocked me. I lost my footing, sliding down the wall and landing with a small thud on the dusty floor. The movement was just enough to distract the werewolf from the fight and it lunged toward me, nearly knocking Sirius out of the way.

Luckily, Sirius still seemed to have his quidditch reflexes, as he sank his bared teeth into the werewolf's leg, sending him crashing to the floor a mere few inches from me. I scrambled backward, dragging my butt along the wooden floorboards until I was out in the hallway. The werewolf thrashed and howled against the dog's bite, but Sirius was refusing to let go.

James ran forward, grabbing me under the arm and hoisting me on my feet.

"Go! Down the hall! Now!"

Alice ran forward, following James's lead, as we dashed through the house and thundered down the stairs. James through open a hatch a few feet from the base of the stairs, forcing Alice into it. She fell down the narrow stairs, landing on her arm with a sickening crack against the stone floor.

"Wormtail, go with her! Take her to the hospital wing, but do NOT mention where she was!"

The large brown rat, the one I was sure had scared me earlier, scuttled down the stairs.

"Go with them, Haley, go with them now-"

A loud roar and a loud crash from upstairs cut James off. We both whirled around just in time to see the werewolf round the corner to the staircase, closely followed by Sirius the dog. Blood dripped from his teeth, but he continued to bark and growl as he bounded after the wolf.

James swore loudly as he slammed the hatch shut, effectively cutting me off from Alice, before shoving me into a corner of the room. He ran down the stairs, quickly transfiguring into something that I could only describe as a very large stag. I fell to the floor in shock once again, scooting to the wall and huddling there in complete terror.

James the stag caught the werewolf in his antlers just as it crossed the last step, slamming it against the wall and pinning it there. The werewolf struggled to release itself, scraping and clawing at the antlers, but the stag stood its ground.

I felt a hand clutch under my arm and it hauled me to my feet, pushing me toward the staircase. I stumbled, tripping over myself, but the hand shot out and caught me before I fell to the floor again.

"Haley, you have to move, you have to get out of here." I recognized the low voice through the fear it projected. Sirius.

I pounded up the stairs, closely followed by Sirius who kept a hand on my hip to steady me. He slid by me, grabbing onto my hand to pull me through the house. He wove through the bedroom Alice and I had first entered, squeezing through the window and pulling me down with him. He caught me at my waist, lowering me gently to the ground. He took out his wand and shakily sealed the window back into place.

I fell to the frozen ground, my body shaking as I realized what had just happened.

"What- what the hell were you thinking?" Sirius nearly shouted, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "You almost got yourself killed. You almost got-" He cut himself off, lowering himself onto the ground next to me. He seemed to have realized that I was on the verge of a breakdown. He knelt in front of me, cupping my cheeks and my neck, running his fingers softly through my blonde curls. I hadn't even realized I was crying until he brushed away the tears with the pads of his thumbs.

"Haley, oh god, Haley, are you okay? Please, say something, just say something, please."

I took a deep breath in, lifting my gaze so I was looking at him straight in the eye. His gray eyes weren't dancing with laughter like they usually were. This time, they were filled with something else. Fear? Concern? Whatever it was, it made my heart drop to the pit of my stomach. For a second, I debated leaning forward and kissing him. I shook my head instead, ridding my thoughts of the daring kiss. Clearly alcohol was still to blame.

Sirius Black saved my life. He did it because he had to, not because he was in love with me. I needed to get over this crush I had. I needed to. Sirius Black wasn't going to date a girl like me, everyone knew that. Even I knew that. I needed to stop kidding myself.

"I-I just want to get back to the castle, please."

He nodded his head, brushing his hand down my neck one more time, before standing on his feet. He bent down and easily lifted me, placing one arm under my knees and another mid-back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting my head fall onto his shoulder, as he carried me up the hill and toward the fence.

He set me down at the base of the fence and I gently placed my hands on the wooden beams, hoisting myself onto the other side. Just as Sirius hopped over, another loud and awful howl rang from the house, sending chills of fear down my spine.

"James-" I started, turning to look at Sirius, but he shook his head quickly.

"He'll be fine. He's in his animal form, so he can't turn into a werewolf if he gets bit. We've had worse fights than that before, James can take care of himself."

I was too tired to ask questions, too tired to figure out why in the world Sirius could turn into a dog and James could turn into a stag.

Somewhere during our walk back to the village, Sirius had placed his jacket around my shoulders before slinging his arm across them, keeping me close to his side. I shivered slightly, though I wasn't sure if it was from the cold or the situation that had just played out.

Sirius took out his wand, freezing the bells on the door before clicking the lock open with a silent charm. I followed him inside, as he had grabbed onto my hand, lacing his fingers tightly through mine. Even through my rollercoaster of emotions, I couldn't help but think about how perfectly our hands fit together.

Then I wondered if he felt the same.

We sped through the aisles of candy, making a beeline toward the basement stairs, where he took the exact same route as James did- making sure to miss the creaky parts of the old, wooden steps. I followed his lead, being much more careful this time than when we entered, for I was far more sober this time around.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sirius muttered as he tucked a lock of my blonde curls behind my ear. I nodded slowly, staring at the floor instead of into his piercing gray eyes. I was sure that if I looked directly at him, he would call me out on my lie. He didn't say anything as he turned away from me, bending down to throw open the hatch.

As soon as his fingers grazed the crease where the door was hidden, a voice cleared from behind us. I whirled around, my eyes wide with surprise as a lantern shining from the base of the stairs nearly blinded me. I put up my hand to shield my eyes as I squinted, trying to see around the bright light.

"Well, well, well," the nasally voice said, slowly lowering the lantern to chest height, "What have we here?"

The blood drained from my face, instantly paling me, as I heard Sirius let out a colorful string of profanities from behind me. He straightened up, not wanting to give away his secret passageway to the owner of the store.

The owner of the store who had just caught us in his basement.


	16. Chapter 16

**Here it is! Chapter 16!  
I've LOVE having all the feedback from this story, so keep them coming!  
No news from me otherwise, just read and enjoy!**

"Incredibly irresponsible," Professor Mcgonagall was nearly yelling, her brown hair falling from underneath her sleeping cap. She had enough time to wrap her robes around her bed clothes, but I noticed she hadn't bothered sliding on a different pair of shoes. House slippers donned her feet, giving her the rather humorous appearance of an extremely temperamental housewife. "Well? What do the two of you have to say for yourselves?"

I said nothing as Sirius, who was seated beside me in Professor Dumbledore's office, shrugged his shoulders casually. I could tell by the look on his face that he had never been caught sneaking out of the castle before. And he wasn't too fond of it either.

"Sneaking out of the castle, breaking into the cellar of Honeydukes." She paused, surveying both of us over her spectacles. "I have half a mind to expel you both immediately."

My head shot up, shaking wildly against the news. "No Professor, please don't," I pleaded with her, getting ready to beg on my hands and knees if I needed to, "we'll do anything, I promise you, just don't ex-"

Dumbledore put his hand gently in the air, effectively cutting me off. I slunk back into the armchair, all hope leaving my body. "While Professor McGonagall does have quite the point, and you two should reflect upon the severity of your actions, we have decided against expelling you. Due to the current…circumstances."

I furrowed my brow, glancing up at the Headmaster in confusion. "Circumstances, sir?"

Dumbledore placed his fingertips together, surveying the both of us over top of his half-moon glasses. "It seems, Miss Brams, that you had gotten yourself into quite the predicament. Remus Lupin had come to office just a few minutes before you arrived. He explained everything to me."

I shook my head slowly, the look of confusion deepening on my features. "But, sir, I don't understand. Remus Lupin wasn't with-" The thought dawned on me immediately. If James was the Stag and Sirius was the black dog and Peter was the rat…that left Remus to be… "He was the werewolf."

"Indeed, Miss Brams, Mr. Lupin is, in fact, a werewolf," his stern gaze on me only increased with the news he delivered, causing me to shrink slightly in my seat. "As soon as he turned back, he rushed up here to explain what happened. How you found a way out of the castle, how Sirius was worried so he followed you out, how you discovered a way into the Shrieking Shack, and how Sirius was able to pull you from the house before the attack began."

I realized what Remus had done. Despite the fact that, less than two hours ago he was on the verge of ripping my throat out, he had just saved our skins. He managed to keep Alice out of the picture as well. By falsifying the story, he was able to make Sirius look like the good guy without breaking their secret…which I'm sure was very sacred to them.

I couldn't imagine Dumbledore being very happy with three unregistered animagi running around during the full moon with a full-fledged werewolf.

"Yes, sir, that's what happened," I said as soon as I shook myself out of my thoughts. I turned to glance at Sirius, who was looking at me with a dumbfound expression on his face. "Sirius saved me."

Dumbledore surveyed me for a moment more before standing from his desk, gesturing for us to stand with him. We followed his command and I noticed that even Sirius had a hard time disobeying the headmaster.

"You should know, Miss Brams and Mr. Black, that in place of the expulsion you will be attending a detention once a week for the rest of your seventh year. Mr. Black, we're just going to add yours to the tab that you already owe." I couldn't help but notice that Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he said it. Sirius merely smirked. "And we will be notifying your parents by letter."

I groaned inaudibly. My parents were going to kill me. Absolutely blow a gasket. I just hoped my mother got a hold of the letter before my father did- maybe she could stave off his reaction just a bit.

"That's okay, sir," Sirius joked, always needing to put a funny spin on everything, "my poor mother will just be upset that Remus didn't tear me to pieces."

Dumbledore let out a small smile, his eyes twinkling at the joke. "Miss Brams, you are dismissed, but Mr. Black, please stay with Professor McGonagall and I for a moment. We wished to speak with you about something."

He nodded curtly, sending me a quick glance. I bit my lip, fighting the urge to ask what it was about as I made my way out of the office.

"Oh, Miss Brams?"

I glanced over my shoulder to Professor Dumbledore, whose eyebrows were raised slightly on his forehead. "Yes sir?"

"I trust that you'll be able to keep this a secret. Mr. Lupin's future depends on it."

I sent him a small smile and nodded before pushing open the thick, wooden door and descending on the spiral staircase that led to the corridor just on the other side of the Gargoyle. He jumped aside, allowing me access to the empty hallway.

I was surprised to see Alice and James waiting for me at the base of the staircase. Remus was missing from the group, but I couldn't blame him. I couldn't imagine turning into a werewolf was a pleasant experience and I thought he might be sleeping off the after effects.

Alice rushed forward, throwing her arms around my neck. I squeezed her waist back, digging my face into the front of her chest. I blinked back the tears that threatened to fall from my brown eyes, wiping them inconspicuously on the front of her shirt.

"I heard a crack when you fell. Are you-?" I asked, gesturing down to her arm.

My best friend held it out, a wide grin on her face. "Madam Pomfrey fixed it up, good as new." She paused, taking a step back to run her gaze up and down me. "I told her that I had accidently tripped and fallen down the stairs in the common room. She seemed to believe me, no problem." She paused, her wide grin still on her face. "And I already promised James that I would keep the news to myself, not even telling Frank." She held up two fingers. "Scout's honor."

I was relieved, to say the least. I was thinking of all the horrible things that could have happened to her while we were separated, none of which had even the taste of a happy ending.

James nearly knocked Alice out of the way in his effort to pick me up around my waist and swing me around in the hallway. I giggled, the feeling unnatural in the current circumstances. "I'm just glad you're okay." He set me down on the ground, but kept his hands on my shoulders. His brown eyes peered into mine, concern glazed over his usual amused expression. "Remus feels terrible, you know, he really does."

I glanced around the hall, my brow furrowed. "Where is he? I wanted to talk to him-"

James shook his head. "He's…recovering. Now that the full moon is setting, he changed back. I would give him a little bit though. He's pretty upset by the whole ordeal."

I managed to repress a shudder. Remus Lupin…the werewolf…who almost tore out my throat and ate it for a late night snack. James and Alice must have seen the look on my face, as Alice quickly wrapped her arms around my waist as James placed a comforting arm across my shoulders. I looked back at the staircase, wondering for a moment if we should wait for Sirius.

He did, after all, save my life. I figured I would be more equipped to thank him after a good night's sleep. I let James and Alice lead me away from Dumbledore's office, my mind still buzzing from that evening's events.

….

I managed to leap out of bed the next morning, despite the tired, achy feeling in my legs. Clearly, they weren't used to being used so much, as I felt like a pregnant woman waddling across the dormitory. I quickly brushed my teeth and threw up my hair, not bothering to put on any make-up, as I would be spending the next ten hours on the train back home.

It still felt surreal to me that, after seven years of not getting one detention, I nearly was expelled, but got away with having one detention per week for the rest of the school year. It was an easy bargain, in my opinion, and something that I could live with rather than getting my wand snapped in half.

A few minutes later, I tore down the stairs toward the common room, pulling a hooded sweatshirt on over my tank top and sweat pants. I ran head on into Peter, who knocked me flat on the ground with a "humph" of air escaping from my lungs.

"Hold on there, Haley," I heard a familiar voice say before grabbing onto my underarm and hauling me to my feet. I staggered up, catching my balance by grasping onto a nearby chair. I looked over my shoulder, not surprised to see Sirius standing behind me. He grinned down at me, his shaggy black hair falling into his gray eyes.

My heart pitter-pattered against my rib cage. I was glad he couldn't hear it at that point in time, as it would have given me away immediately. I straightened up, tilting my head back slightly to look up at him. "Listen, I really wanted to thank you for-"

"Is that why you came running down the stairs like a bat out of hell?" he smirked, crossing his arms over his shoulder. "Because, really, you didn't have to-"

I shook my head quickly, my brow creasing in the middle. "Erm, no, actually I wasn't looking for you. But I figured, since you saved my life, and I just ran into you that-"

Sirius shook his head slowly, placing a hand over his heart. He glanced down at me, his face contorted into a wounded expression. "That hurt, Brams, that really hurt."

I shoved him playfully and he let out a bark of laughter. I was about to turn and go to the Great Hall when he grabbed onto my arm once again, holding me back for a moment. He held out the rolled up parchment, a smile playing on his lips. "I figured I should be the one to sign it. Since I did save your life and everything."

I grabbed the parchment from him, rolling my eyes as I stuffed it into the large pocket at the front of my sweatshirt. "Always the humble one, Sirius Black, but thank you anyways. I really do appreciate it, in more ways than one."

His smile grew into a wide grin as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Where are you headed to anyways?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but then remembered that the information I had gained last night was not common knowledge. I shut my mouth and shrugged. "Just thought I would go to the Great Hall and grab some breakfast before the train left."

Sirius placed a hand on the small of my back and gestured with the other hand toward the portrait hole. "Come on, I'll walk you over there."

We clambered out of the common room and into the hallway, the two of us walking toward the Great Hall…together. I realized how stupid I probably looked with my hands swinging at my side, so I decided to shove them into the large pocket of my sweatshirt. Then I realized how closed and anti-social that made me seem, so I let them swing awkwardly at my sides again.

Good thing Sirius didn't appear to notice.

"So, what did Dumbledore want to talk to you about after our meeting last night?" I asked before shaking my head and closing my eyes. That was rather rude, what if he didn't want to talk about it? I shouldn't be prying after all. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay, Haley, no need to apologize," Sirius chuckled, shaking his head as we descended a set of stairs behind a tapestry that he had shown me just a few weeks ago. "It was nothing, he wanted to see if I was interested in something. I am, so he signed me up."

I cocked an eyebrow, looking up at him with an expression of disbelief. "I didn't peg you for the volunteering type, Black. I thought quidditch was the only extracurricular you were interested in around here."

Sirius returned my expression of disbelief, though his was more mocking. "Oh come on Brams, you should know me by now. I'm the president of the Gobstones club, the treasurer of the Charms club, and a prominent member of the Wizards Chess club."

I snorted, shaking my head.

"Those boys don't win a match without me there to cheer them on."

I giggled as we turned to enter the Great Hall. "You are something else, Sirius Black, you really are." I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at the Gryffindor table. "Is that…is that Remus sitting there?"

Sirius followed my gaze, his own eyes settling on one of his greatest friends. It was a sad sight, to be honest. Remus Lupin eating breakfast alone, his eyes trained to the old wood that made up the Gryffindor house table. He chewed slowly, as if it were his last meal and he wanted to savor it as much as possible. "Be nice to him," he murmured, just loud enough for only me to hear. "He's been through a lot the past 24 hours and-"

"I just wanted to talk to him," I scoffed at Sirius, breaking away from him to continue my trek up to Remus. "Give me a few minutes with just him, okay?"

He didn't seem quite convinced, but he let me go anyways. I gratefully peeled away from his side, starting my march up to the front of the table. The closer I got, the worse he looked. I wondered how I didn't fit the two and two together after all these years.

It had clearly been a rough transformation for Remus. New scraps and scars littered his face, neck, and arms. As he spotted me, he stood quickly from his seat on the bench, not wanting to put any weight on his left leg. Was that where Sirius had bitten him the night before?

I cleared my throat as I approached him and his expression grew weary with my every step coming just a bit closer. "Do you mind if we, you know, talk out in the corridor?"

I thought Remus was going to be sick to his stomach for a moment, but he slowly nodded before setting his toast on the empty gold plate in front of him. I turned to leave the Great Hall, assuming that Remus would follow me.

Sirius watched us with guarded eyes, but I didn't acknowledge him as we went past. I nestled myself into a small alcove just outside the Hall, leaning my upper back against the cool stone. Remus dragged his feet, clearly not ready to have this conversation.

"Look, Haley," he started, training his eyes to the stone floor, "I'm really sorry about last night, I couldn't help it and you know that I-"

I cut him off by launching myself off the wall and wrapping my arms tightly around his waist. "You have no need to apologize," I said, the tears welling up in my eyes, "Don't apologize. I should be saying sorry to you. I shouldn't have gone up there, I put you in danger too and-"

"You didn't know," he consoled me, placing his arms gently around my shoulders, pulling me closer into his chest, "You couldn't have known. I could have killed you. I could have-" He stammered off, shutting himself off from the conversation.

I pulled away from him, taking a step back to wipe the tears roughly off with the tips of my fingers. "But you didn't. You were fine."

Remus's gaze shot to the floor once more. "I understand if you don't ever want to talk to me again. I am a-a-a monster and-"

I gasped audibly, shaking my head. "You are a wonderful person, Remus, and of course I still want to talk to you. So you have a furry little problem, there is nothing wrong with that."

Remus chuckled in disbelief. "James calls it my furry little problem. I'm convinced that everyone thinks I own a terribly behaved rabbit."

I giggled through my tears, hiccupping slightly under the odd emotional transition. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm not mad nor will I hold it against you. You are one of my great friends and I will continue to hang around you and be your desk partner in potion's class, though preferably not during a full moon."

He beamed at me, sending a radiant smile in my direction before pulling me into another tight hug. "You are a special girl, Haley. Now, tell me, how many detentions did you receive for sneaking out of the castle? I overheard James talking about it last night."

I shook my head, rolling my eyes. "One a week for the rest of the school year. And they are sending a note to my parents."

Remus peered down at me with a sympathetic face. "Are they going to kill you?"

I nodded in response. "Kill me and then bring me back to life to kill me again." I sighed, gesturing toward the Great Hall. "Want to go back inside? I'm starving." I snaked an arm around his waist, leading him back into the Hall to finish his breakfast. He placed an arm easily across my shoulder. I could tell, just like myself, that for once, the weight of the world was off his shoulders.


	17. Chapter 17

**All I have to say is: thank you for all the lovely reviews, I love you because of all the lovely reviews and alerts, and definitely keep them coming!**

**Also, thank you for being patient with me, as I had to work and study this weekend, so getting on the computer wasn't an option! **

**Read and enjoy!**

Everything was different when I came home this time around. No one knew how to react to me. They knew I had changed, they felt it whenever I walked into the room. My mother decided to call it my "sassy new attitude," but even she didn't know what to make of it. I might as well have been sent to Azkaban for killing someone the way my entire family seemed to avoid me like the plague.

Unfortunately, I could feel the brewing argument festering within my mother. And on Christmas Day she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"A whole term worth of detentions, Haley Brams?" she shouted at me as soon as she pulled the roast chicken out of the oven. I winced, knowing this discussion was going to come at some point. I could have done with later rather than sooner. Or, at least not on a holiday. This seemed to be the only time she got me by myself though. "I cannot believe you, I honestly can't. What happened to you? You've never gotten detention before and now you're sneaking out of the castle at all hours of the night with a boy. If your father knew about-"

"If your father knew what?"

My mother's mouth closed tight as the color drained from my face. I knew she hadn't been planning on telling my father what had happened in the days before I left for Christmas break. I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole. My mother mumbled incoherently under her breath as she stirred the boiling potatoes with a large wooden spoon. The steam rose up, grazing her already dull pink cheeks.

My father cleared his throat, a hint for someone to speak up.

"Haley-" my mother started before she sighed and placed the wooden spoon on the counter before wiping her hands on the blue apron she wore around her waist. "Hogwarts sent me a letter that she has received detention once a week for the rest of the year. It was either that or expulsion. They were lenient with her punishment, because she had never acted out before."

My father's eyebrows shot dangerously high on his forehead. This was an even worse sign than McGonagall pursing her lips into the tight white line she usually reserved for James and Sirius. No, this was far, far worse than that. I was in deep trouble.

He turned to me. "What did you do?"

I scraped my blonde curls off my neck, throwing them into a ponytail that grazed my upper back. I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest. I couldn't say. Even the professors got it wrong. I had snuck out with Alice as a dare, scooting down the passageway James had showed me a few weeks previously. I couldn't say that Sirius Black actually saved my life…from Remus Lupin…the werewolf.

Instead, I shrugged, acting casually bored, as if the conversation was no longer worth my time. The infuriated look my father sent me nearly had me hiking up the stairs to my room as fast as my legs could carry me. He eyed me for a moment before turning back to my mother.

Typical Ralph Brams. I had seen it time and time again with Daniel. When he felt you were wasting his precious time, you no longer existed in his eyes. That thought had me close to tears.

"She…snuck out of the castle," my mother managed to stammer out under my father's scrutinizing gaze. Even he intimated her. I almost felt bad for my mother until I realized that I was the one in trouble, not her. I swallowed roughly, a lump the size of a golf ball occluding my throat. "She was caught in the basement of Honeydukes…with a boy... Sirius Black."

I let out the breath I had been holding in nervously, watching my father out of the corner of my eye. He went silent for a moment, eerily still. I knew what was coming and this time I braced myself for it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" my father exploded, sending his rage flying at me like he had unleashed a rather vicious wind from the skies. "Are you trying to ruin your life? Your reputation? What would happen if the Ministry heard word of your gallivanting? Do you think any of those departments would want to hire you? Merlin, Haley…and what about getting arrested? Did that ever cross your mind-"

It hadn't.

"-What were you doing in the basement of an establishment like that anyways? Even worse than expulsion, you could have gotten pregnant!"

Something in my mind snapped, I whipped my head around, glaring in his direction. "Oh, so now having an illegitimate child is worse than getting thrown in jail for a night?" I shook my finger at him. "You should be ashamed of yourself, dad. It was nothing like that-"

"This is a Black we're talking about," he interrupted me, the veins in his neck bulging dangerously as his face turned to a deep red. "Having an illegitimate child with someone as awful as them-"

"You don't even know him!" I yelled back, throwing my arms to my sides to emphasize my point. "You've never met him and, I should have you know, that it isn't even like that with us. We were just having a bit of fun. Daniel does this all the time and he never gets in trouble-"

It seemed that my lovely twin brother had been listening outside of the kitchen, as he twisted into the room, his hazel eyes narrowed at me. "Don't bring me into your problem. I've never been caught in the basement of Honeydukes in the middle of the night."

"Oh shut up Daniel," I snapped, planting my hands on my slim hips. "Like you've never snuck out before-"

"Not to that extent. What were you doing? Stealing?"

"Shut it-"

"Doing a bit of snogging?"

"I said-"

"This is Sirius Black we're talking about," he spat, his eyes glinting dangerously. He ran a hand through his own curly blonde hair. It fell back into his eyes. "I bet it was more than a bit of-"

"I said shut the hell up, Daniel!" I screamed, finally losing my temper. I lunged forward, my hands extended out in front of me as I got ready to claw and punch whatever part of him I could get a hold of. He took a step back, his eyes wide with surprise as my father caught me around the waist, dragging me across the kitchen.

"That is enough, young lady. What has gotten into you? Attacking your brother? Sneaking out? Almost getting expelled? This is not you. You are not a temperamental teenage bitch." He paused, something obviously at the forefront of his mind. "Is it the boy? Is he doing something to you?"

I ripped myself from his grasp, adjusting my shirt so it was center on my torso again. "No, dad, he isn't doing anything to me."

"He probably is, that womanizing little git-" my brother started to say, but I cut him off with a quick, "Merlin, shut up Daniel!"

He shrugged, throwing his hands in the air as he stared at me. "All I'm saying is-"

"Daniel Brams, upstairs. Now."

I looked over at my mother, who was lividly pointing at the kitchen door. I had almost forgotten that she was in the kitchen…fixing our Christmas dinner. Her hair was disheveled from the heat, her blue apron covered in flour. A nasty sneer was fixed on her face.

My brother, smartly might I add, didn't say anything as he clunked out of the kitchen and up the wooden stairs that were just off the foyer. Though I could still hear him muttering under his breath about how he should have an input in family matters. I didn't bother to correct him.

There was an incredibly charged pause as my parents stared at me, unsure of how to continue forward at this point. My father rubbed his forehead with his knuckle as he closed his eyes. "I don't want you seeing that boy, Haley."

"Ex-excuse me?" I stammered out, my jaw dropping open at the audacity of my father, "He's one of my best friends-"

He shook his head, opening his eyes back up to bore them into my own. "You have Alice and Mary who, quite frankly, are better influences on you than a Black. You are not to see him anymore, do you understand me?"

"Crystal," I managed to seethe out, my teeth clenched with rage. "Excuse me, I'm going up to my bedroom now." I stormed out of the kitchen, following my brother's path up the wooden staircase, though I turned left at the top instead of right and followed the hallway to my bedroom. I slammed the door with unnecessary force, the wall left slightly vibrating after the collision.

I let out a huff of frustration as I turned to my desk, tearing through the drawers until I reached what I was looking for- a roll of parchment and a quill. I quickly slammed the parchment down onto the smooth wood, nearly ripping the thick paper as I shakily started to write with my quill.

**Absolute worst Christmas ever.  
Had a huge fight with my parents about the Honeydukes thing.  
Cannot wait to get out of this house and back to the castle.  
Hope you're having a better one than I.**

**Haley xo**

I whistled for my owl and she flew down from her perch one the rafters near my high-rise ceiling. She landed gracefully on the table, fluffing a few of her feathers indignantly as I had woke her up from an evening nap. She hooted softly as she stuck out her leg. I didn't try to be gentle as I tied the note to her leg. She sent me a reproachful look as I picked her up.

"You know who it goes to," I said as I haphazardly threw her out of my bedroom window. She fell a couple feet before catching the winter wind underneath her wings. She hooted once more before flapping her broad wings and taking off into the night.

I collapsed onto my bed, rubbing my temples with the pads of my fingers. I sighed, falling backward so I was now looking at the ceiling of my room. What had gone wrong? Was I really becoming this temperamental, awful teenage girl?

I certainly didn't think so. I didn't feel any different than when I began the school year. Maybe I was gaining a little more confidence, a little more "sass" as my mother liked to say. But I definitely wasn't…a bitch…right? I continued my relentless glare at the ceiling, as if it had personally offended me.

I heard a low rumble from outside, as if a thunderstorm was off in the distance. I furrowed my brow before sitting up, staring at the window in confusion. It was nearing the end of December. There was no way a thunderstorm was anywhere near this area of the world. The continuous rumble became louder and louder before I decided to edge off the bed and pad over to the window. I looked out, pressing my cheek against the cool glass to try and get a better view.

Something was definitely out there. Something was definitely coming toward my house. I yelped and jumped back as I realized what it was. A _motorcycle_ was flying against the night sky. I watched as it collided with the pavement, screeching to a halt in front of the house.

_My house._

The owner of the motorcycle climbed off the bike and pulled the helmet from his head. It was then I realized…it was Sirius. He was at my house…on a motorcycle…Sirius Black. What the hell? I tore out of my room, creeping as silently as I could down the stairs, all the while listening for my parents to realize someone was at the house. Fortunately, they were still holed up in the kitchen, discussing my future and what they should do as parents.

I ripped the door open, holding onto the string of bells that hung from the knob so it didn't make any noise. Sirius appeared surprised for a minute before he sent an easy grin down toward me. My heart fluttered at the sight of him. His black, shaggy hair was somewhat disheveled thanks to the bike helmet, but his gray eyes were shining with…was that concern?

"What are you doing here?" I whispered as I leaned against the doorframe, casually glancing over my shoulder to make sure my parents were keeping their conversation going. He pushed past me and into the foyer, taking in the sight of my house for the first time. "And when did you get a motorcycle?"

"I got your note," he said, proudly patting the chest pocket on his coat. "I couldn't sit around and wait until morning to see if you were okay." He paused, raking his eyes over my slim figure. I self-consciously crossed my arms over my chest.

"If my parents knew you were here-"

"Yeah, I figured they would be pretty mad," he said, shrugging his shoulders as if this thought didn't bother him. "I get that a lot." He chuckled at the guilty expression on my face. "I'm a Black, remember?" I didn't quite know what to say, so I just awkwardly stood there in front of him. He exhaled, his breath creating a fog against the cold night. "Are you up for doing something spontaneous?"

I crinkled my brow, pulling back in bewilderment.

"No questions, no time to think," he added on, effectively cutting off all questions I had for him. "Pack your stuff."

I pursed my lips for a moment, blowing the breath I had been holding out of my lungs. This was the one thing I was bad at- spontaneity. I seemed to be physically and mentally unable to do something without over thinking and analyzing it first. But as I listened to my parents harp to each other about my future, about their decisions in my upbringing, about how surprised they are at my recent behavior, I realized that spontaneity was exactly what I needed.

"Give me three minutes." I held up three fingers in gesture before pounding up the stairs, not bothering to be quiet. I swung open my bedroom door and grabbed my wand from the bed, swinging it and flicking it in all sorts of directions so the clothes and accessories I needed flew into the trunk that sat at the end of my bed. It wasn't pretty, but it would do. I closed the trunk and locked it with a click before donning my jacket.

It ended up being closer to five minutes by the time I dragged my trunk from the room and clunked it down the stairs. Sirius flashed a heart-stopping smile at me as he raised his wand and flicked it at my luggage, shrinking it to backpack size. I picked it up with one hand, eyeing it with interest.

"That would have been helpful two minutes ago."

He let out a barking laugh as he held up the motorcycle helmet, smirking at me as I looked at it with uncertainty. It only lasted a second, though, as I remembered what had happened earlier that evening and I grabbed a hold of the bike helmet with gusto.

"Atta girl," Sirius said as he held open the front door for me. I looked back at the kitchen, where my parents were still unaware of what was going on at the front of their house. "What's wrong, Haley?"

I shook my head, sending a small smile up to Sirius. I realized I was standing closer to him than I meant to, the winter breeze swept his musky cologne off his jacket and into my nose. I breathed deeply, surprised how much the scent affected me. "Nothing, let's just go."

I stepped out of the house. Sirius let the door snap shut behind him as I pulled the helmet over my blonde curls. I popped a pose, sticking one hand on my hip. "How does that look?"

"Gorgeous, Haley Brams, gorgeous."

I laughed as he climbed onto the motorbike, assisting me with sitting behind him. He wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling me close to him. My traitorous heart beat madly against my ribcage and, for a moment, I was afraid it would give me away. He didn't seem to notice as he switched on the bike, kicking into gear with one swift movement. I set my cheek against the middle of his back, staring at my house, the twinkling lights, the Christmas tree standing tall in the front window.

"You're sure about this?" Sirius asked over the loud rumbling of the bike.

I nodded my head, leaning into him so I wouldn't have to shout over the noise. "More than you know, Sirius, more than you know."

With one curt nod in response from him, he switched the motorcycle into first gear and sped down the street, my house getting smaller and smaller as the distance between us faded away.


	18. Chapter 18

**HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! As I couldn't send all of you chocolates and flowers today (though I would if I could!) I figured I would gift to you the 18th chapter of the series! Thank you SO much to everyone who has reviewed and put this on your alerts. I am honestly floored and humbled by how much support this story as gotten. Keep it up!**

**As always, read and enjoy! 3**

We halted to a stop just outside an old brick building, a few lights in the windows were turned on, but most of the windows were dark. He parked the bike on the street, setting a quick charm on it to keep it from being stolen. He tossed one leg over the side of the bike, holding out a hand to help me off. I took off the helmet, shaking out my blonde hair quickly. It was amazing to me how fast hat hair could set in.

He grabbed my shrunken trunk from the back of the bike and gestured for me to follow him up the stairs and into the bricked building that stood before us. He quickly unlocked the first door before climbing another set of narrow stairs to the second floor.

This time, he took out his wand and glanced quickly around before opening the door with a silenced charm. It swung open, revealing a small, quaint flat that overlooked a minute part of London.

He set my stuff on the ground next to the kitchen counter and I awkwardly moved into the apartment, slowly taking in my surroundings. It was, by all means, a bachelor pad. Butterbeer bottles and old chess pieces littered the floor, boxes that were yet to be unpacked were stacked on the dining room table.

Posters of girls and cars haphazardly covered the walls of the living room, which held a beaten up couch and an old, leather loveseat. He leaned against one of the kitchen countertops, eyeing me for a moment.

"Sorry about the mess," he grumbled, scratching at the back of his head, "Just moved in last week. Haven't had much time between the move and the holidays."

I shrugged, leaning against a wall opposite him, my arms crossed over my chest. "I think I'm more surprised about the flying motorbike to be honest with you."

He let out a gruff laugh, leaning over to pull two butterbeers from the fridge. He tossed one over to me and I caught it rather clumsily before popping the top off with great force. "You like that? I bought it over the summer with my left over allowance, you could say. James helped me fix it up when I stayed at his place." He took a swig of the butterbeer, nearly gulping half the thing down in one swoop. "I have to tell you, though, the two of us nearly got into trouble with the muggle policemen with it. It was a riot, I'll have to tell you about it later."

I ran my pinkie finger over the condensation that built up on the sides of the bottle. I decided to play dumb at that point. Alice and Mary had told me the rumor of his disinheritance, but I wanted to hear it for myself. I needed to hear it for myself. "I didn't realize you were living with James over the summer," I started slowly, eyeing him warily, "How did that happen?"

He took another swig of his butterbeer, keeping his eyes trained on me. "Got kicked out of my parent's house," he said shortly, "wasn't living up to their standards." He paused, finishing off the butterbeer with his third and final swig. "The only reason I could afford this was because I fell into a sum of money at the end of November. I had an uncle who died, you see, and he left everything to me. I'm going to assume that he was officially disinherited as well."

I shook my head slowly. "I'm sure your mother would have loved to see you for the holidays-"

He let out a humorless laugh, leaning toward the fridge to pull out another butterbeer. He uncorked it easily. "You've never met my mother, Haley. She was honestly upset that Remus hadn't ripped into me that night. She sent me a letter."

I closed my mouth quickly, trying to rack my brains to understand how a mother wouldn't be upset that her eldest son was almost killed by a werewolf. My mother was beyond hysterical when she picked me up from the train station. It was borderline embarrassing to be completely honest.

Sirius shrugged, flicking his hair out of his eyes with a quick movement of his head. He took a sip from the new bottle, savoring it slightly this time. "Enough about me, tell me what happened with this letter."

"Oh, it was nothing, really-"

"Haley, I know you," he said shortly, leaning forward to place both elbows on the countertop. He gazed at me with concern. "You wouldn't have sent that letter if something wasn't wrong. So spill it."

I sighed, dumping myself into a dining room chair that sat closest to me. I took a nice swill of the drink, letting the warm liquid flow soothingly down my throat. "My mother and father both told me that I wasn't allowed to hang out with you. Daniel basically called me a whore," I stopped, shaking my head, "It was just a lot to handle. This whole break has been really tense, I just needed to get out."

Sirius nodded his head slowly, clearly in understanding. "Well, tomorrow is James's family Christmas dinner. They usually have it the day after, I don't know why, it's just tradition." He swirled the end of the bottle in the puddle of condensation that dripped onto the countertop. "Would you want to go with me?"

I smiled softly, taking another sip of the drink. "That would be lovely, Sirius. Thank you."

He straightened up, finishing off his second butterbeer quickly. I was barely halfway through my first. He walked over to my luggage, pulling out his wand and bringing my trunk back to full size. He grabbed one end of it and hauled it down the hallway. "Holy mother of- what did you put in here, Haley? Half a hippogriff and a baby unicorn?"

I giggled. Even in the worst of circumstances, Sirius could make me laugh. He disappeared into a back room for a moment before coming back out, wiping his hands on the legs of his sweatpants. I couldn't help but notice the way his hair fell in his gray eyes…how his jeans hung off his hips…I shook my head quickly, taking another sip of my butterbeer to try and get the thoughts of my mind.

He's just trying to be nice, he's just trying to be nice.

"You can sleep in my room," he said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb toward the back room. "It's kind of small and rather messy, but it's better than the couch." I opened my mouth to protest, about to say that he didn't have to give up his bed, but he cut me off. "Take my bedroom. You're a girl, you need the privacy."

I rolled my eyes, but smiled and thanked him profusely. He threw himself onto the beat up couch, pulling a blanket off the floor and covering himself with it. "I'm going to sleep, see you in the morning."

I took that as my cue to retire to his bedroom and I quietly slunk down the hallway, turning at the doorway to my left. I slowly entered, feeling as though I was the one disrespecting his privacy, even though he offered his room to me to begin with. I clicked the door shut behind me, taking in the bedroom…

Sirius Black's bedroom.

More posters covered the walls- Quidditch teams, half naked girls, and cars. Boxes were stacked near the wall, some more nearly falling out of the small closet that was nestled in the corner of the room. Clothes were littered on top of the boxes, scattered haphazardly across the room.

I snorted at the thought of Sirius putting up posters over unpacking his clothes first. Typical boys. I sat on the edge of the bed, sinking into the comfortable mattress almost immediately. I leaned forward, grabbing a pair of shorts and a loose fitting t-shirt from my trunk. After slipping off my clothes and donning the pajamas, I slid between the sheets, pulling the thick comforter up to my shoulders.

I snuggled my head into the soft pillow, breathing in the scent of Sirius before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

….

I woke the next morning from the sound of rustling near the window. I cracked open my eyes, squinting against the sun that poured into the room. Sirius, a shirtless Sirius who had clearly just gotten out of the shower, was digging through a cardboard box, tossing clothes onto the floor as he continued his search.

I was momentarily confused…why was Sirius Black in my bedroom? I remembered only a few seconds later. The fight with my parents, being picked up by Sirius, falling asleep in his bedroom…his bedroom. I shot up, covering my front with the comforter. There was really no need, considering I was fully clothed, but I wasn't used to sleeping in a boy's bedroom.

"Oh, sorry to wake you up," Sirius said casually, continuing to dig through the box in front of him, "Didn't think I was being that loud." He turned back to look at me, his eyes fixating on something above my head. "Nice hair," he finished with a smirk.

I quickly raised my hand to pat the top of my head, but was only met by a giant poof of blonde, disheveled curls. I groaned, slumping back into the pillow and quickly covering my head with the comforter.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "Did you still want to go to the Potter's with me today?"

I let out a rather muffled "yes," but didn't bother to come out from underneath the blanket. I heard Sirius shift, moving through the piles of clothes and boxes.

"Then you should get up." He paused for a moment, leaning down to rip the covers off my body. I let out a screech of surprise, pulling myself into the fetal position to try and conserve body heat. "And get ready to go. We should probably leave in twenty minutes or so."

I reached over and pulled a pillow from the other end of the bed, throwing it at him as hard as I could. He laughed loudly, catching the pillow easily before it could hit him. "I could have been naked, you twat," I laughed, sitting up in the bed and wrapping my arms around my knees.

"More of a reason to rip the comforter off," he responded, casually shrugging his shoulder. I let out a peel of laughter, throwing a second pillow at him. It him in the side as he tried to escape from the room, laughing. He shut the door for a moment, before opening it back up. "You sure? Because I think you owe me a quickie in the Shrieking Shack."

I pointed at the door, gesturing for him to leave. "Get out, Sirius Black. I have to get ready to go."

He grinned before shutting the door once again, leaving me alone to get ready. I pulled a pair of jeans, a nice top, and a sweater out of my trunk, along with the rest of my accessories needed to get ready for the day. I snuck across the hallway, slipping quietly into the bathroom.

I took a quick shower before drying my hair, brushing my teeth, and putting on a little makeup. I figured if I was going to meet James Potter's parents, I shouldn't look like the bride of Dracula while doing so. I quickly threw my dirty clothes back into the bedroom, where they fell half on the floor and half on the bed.

"You ready?" Sirius said as soon as he heard me coming down the hallway. I turned the corner, surprised to see him leaning against the counter in the kitchen, the Daily Prophet spread out on the smooth surface. I noticed that he had changed his clothes as well- throwing on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt.

I nodded my head, grabbing my jacket and throwing it on over my sweater. "Anything good?" I asked, nodding toward the paper on the counter.

Sirius shook his head, tightening his lips into a thin line. "More disappearances. People are starting to panic." He sighed, shoving his arms into his own jacket. "Anyways, it's the holidays, let's just go enjoy ourselves."

I followed him out of the apartment and into the street, where the bike was still parked next to the lamppost. I climbed on with the help of Sirius and he kicked the bike into gear as soon as he climbed on himself.

After a twenty minute ride, where my cheeks turned bright pink and the tip of my nose went numb, we finally pulled up in front of a nice house decorated with bright Christmas lights. A giant tree sat in front of the large-paned window, shimmering magnificently against the snow that coated the wooden porch.

My heart pounded against my chest as we crunched through the snow up to the front door. It was silly, I admit, since I wasn't going to meet Sirius's parents, but James's. I reminded myself that, though these weren't Sirius's real parents, they obviously meant a great deal to him since he was spending Christmas with them rather than his own family.

Sirius didn't bother to knock, but opened up the front door. The smells of ham, potatoes, and baking pies hit me almost immediately, inviting me inside. I stepped into the house, in awe of the beautiful furniture and pricey paintings that donned the rooms that spread from the foyer. Sirius kicked off his shoes and I followed suit, but did so a bit more gracefully than he did.

"Padfoot! Happy Christmas!" James roared as he entered the room. I was surprised to see that Lily had followed James to the front door, but she wasn't as surprised to see me. As soon as James and Sirius finished their handshake, James turned to me and pulled me into a tight hug. "Good to see you, Haley. Padfoot sent me a letter saying you would be here last night. My parents were overjoyed." He released me, but kept his hands on my shoulders. "The more the merrier."

Lily pushed past James, reaching forward and pulling me through the foyer with her hand wrapped tightly around my wrist.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, still in awe of the house. The deeper we ventured, the more beautiful it seemed.

"James invited me over for Christmas dinner," Lily responded with a smile, her sneakers squeaked against the marble flooring. She shoved me into the bathroom, before turning around quickly, holding a necklace off her neck with the tip of her thumb.

I placed my hand gently under the giant stone, a beautiful garnet shining against the dim lighting of the bathroom. "Oh, Lily, it's beautiful! I'm going to assume it's from James?"

She nodded her head enthusiastically, a wide grin spread on her face. "Yes, he gave it to me this morning as a Christmas gift. Isn't it wonderful?"

I agreed wholeheartedly. "Are you two an official item now?"

Lily smirked slyly, narrowing her eyes dramatically. "Since the day after Slughorn's party. It was such a good time and…well, it just happened."

"Who would have thought Lily Evans would finally succumb to the charm of James Potter?"

She shoved me playfully before reaching around and opening the bathroom door, gesturing for me to go out. I obeyed and she quickly skirted around me, leading me down another ornately decorated hallway. We entered the dining room, where a large table was covered in expensive china. Candles floated just above the table, giving off a dim, romantic glow.

James and Sirius were roaring with laughter at the other side of the table, clearly something funny had happened in our absence.

"Okay, boys, quiet down," an older woman said with a smile on her face as she entered the dining room, carrying a large ham toward the dinner table. She set it down on a heating mat, in order to preserve the old wood of the table. She glanced up at me, her brown eyes were warm and friendly as she made her way around the table. She opened her arms, pulling me into a tight hug. "You must be Haley. Sirius has told us so much about you."

I glanced at Sirius over Mrs. Potter's shoulder, who was clearly trying to avoid eye contact with me. James was smirking at his best mate, teasing him under his breath. Sirius reeled back and punched him on the shoulder. "It's really nice to meet you too," I murmured to James's mother, hugging her back awkwardly.

She pulled away, patting me affectionately on the cheek. "It's so nice to have girls here for once," she said, eyeing the boys over her glasses. "I've been the only one for far too long."

"Ah come on, Mrs. P, you still love us," Sirius called over the table, sticking his hand into the basket of rolls. Mrs. Potter swatted at it, smacking him slightly on the top of his hand.

"You know I do, boys." She said, smiling affectionately at the two. It was clear that she could not only handle those two by herself, but very much cared for them as well. "Sirius, how is that new apartment treating you? You know that we would have housed you for another year or two if necessary."

I furrowed my brow, settling into a seat next to Lily. "Another year? I thought you moved in during the summer?"

Mrs. Potter shook her head. "Oh no, dear. He moved in…when was it, Sirius? Last summer." She shrugged, not bothering to wait for an answer. "It was a couple months before his seventeenth birthday, I do remember that."

I eyed Sirius, surprised that he hadn't bothered to mention it before. He was too busy transfiguring James's utensils into random animals, quickly set right again by James himself. Mrs. Potter must have been used to it, because she decidedly ignored the two boys while she got the rest of the dinner table ready.

An older man entered the room, his gray hair was slicked back in a nod toward the holidays, but his brown eyes were smiling with joy at the two boys. "Sirius!" he exclaimed as he took a seat at the table, just in time for Mrs. Potter to put the last of the dishes in reach for us. "How are you, m'boy? Finished moving yet?"

Sirius grinned digging into the mashed potatoes as Mrs. Potter sat down opposite her husband, gesturing for us to get started. "Hardly, Mr. P. I'm still living out of boxes."

James's father shook his head, forking a few pieces of ham onto his plate. "Get yourself unpacked before the end of the holidays, Sirius. You wouldn't want to come home to that mess after graduation."

Sirius saluted toward the old man just as he turned to look at me, peering at me in amusement over the top of his glasses. "And you." He paused to dramatically point his fork at me. "You should whip that boy into shape. No woman wants to live in a house filled with a man's mess."

I laughed, shaking my head quickly. "Oh, it's okay, I don't live there."

Mr. Potter scrunched his face in confusion, but still hadn't put his fork down. "You're staying there right now, aren't you?"

I nodded slowly, not sure where he was going with this. He pointed his fork toward Sirius, who had stopped in mid-bite to survey the old man with wide-eyes.

"Tell me, how hard was it to maneuver around all of his stuff? Surely you don't want to do that again."

I let out a giggle, spooning a small portion of carrots onto my plate. "I'll make sure he gets unpacked before the holidays are over, don't you worry about that."

"Atta girl," he responded, his eyes glistening with pleasure. "Now eat up, everyone. One thing is for certain…I don't want to be stuck with all this food after you lot leave for the night."

The four of us cheered before digging into our plates with gusto. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. I had missed Christmas dinner the night before, because of the fight, and after that I wasn't hungry enough to make something else at Sirius's house. Then again, he probably didn't have food to make anyways.

After we had finished the majority of our meal, James set down his fork and wiped his mouth politely on the napkin he had set in his lap. "Mum, dad," he began slowly, knocking Sirius in the ribs with his elbow. Sirius rolled his eyes and set down his utensils, crossing his arms over his chest as he finished chewing what was in his mouth. "Sirius and I have something to tell you."

"You're finally admitting that you're going to run away together?" Lily interjected playfully, causing roars of laughter from Mr. Potter. I couldn't help but laugh at his boisterousness, now understanding where exactly James had gotten his sense of humor from.

"We're waiting on that announcement for the next family holiday, love," Sirius threw back at her with a wink, lifting his butterbeer to take a quick sip. James laughed before continuing on with his speech.

"So I'm going to assume that you've heard about this Wizarding War that's going on?"

Mr. and Mrs. Potter each rolled their eyes. "We're old, not dead, son," Mr. Potter said, cutting a piece of ham and stuffing it into his mouth. "Get on with it."

"Well," James said, wringing his napkin in his laugh, clearly nervous for whatever he was about to say. "Professor Dumbledore heads a society that is aimed at defeating this new dark wizard and his followers. He's asked Sirius and me if we were interested in joining after graduation." He paused, taking in a deep breath. "We said yes."

My eyes widened as Sirius looked at me, evidently seeking my approval. I didn't quite know what to say. I knew the war was going on around us, but I hadn't known anyone involved. I hadn't known anyone who had been hurt or killed. It felt almost surreal, like I was tucked into this safe bubble and the war was going on in a far off country…someplace where it could never affect me.

I moved my gaze over to Mrs. Potter, who was staring at the two boys in shock. She got up from her seat, scraping the chair noisily on the floor. This was it, I thought, this was the moment where she snapped and killed those two.

I wouldn't have been surprised in the least. That's exactly what my mother would have done if I admitted that to her over Christmas dinner. She would have told me how stupid I was, how I was throwing away my future for a lost cause. My father would have told me to pull out immediately, to keep my nose clean and my head down so I didn't draw attention.

As Mrs. Potter moved closer to the boys, I contemplated exiting quickly. I didn't necessarily want to witness the murder of James and Sirius, I figured that would put a damper on the rest of my vacation. I eyed Lily, who was staring at James in astonishment. It was evident that he didn't consult his girlfriend on this.

Mrs. Potter grabbed underneath the boys' arms, hauling them to their feet with surprising strength. This was the end, I thought, the end of the road for those two goofballs. That was when something even more surprising happened.

James's mother embraced the two boys, pulling them close to her. "I'm so proud of you two," she said, her eyes watering. "Standing up for what you believe in. Protecting the people around you." She pulled away from them, placing a hand on each of their cheeks. "You both are going to do great things."

Mr. Potter got up out of his chair, a wide grin on his face as he patted the two on the back, gripping their shoulders in a fatherly way. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. The pride was clear on his face.


	19. Chapter 19

**Well, here it is! Chapter 19! I can't believe we're almost to chapter 20 already! I really hope you're enjoying it so far, as we really do have a long ways to go, and I'm planning on going until the end, as I have really enjoyed writing this for you.**

**Thank you SO much for the continuing reviews and adding me to your alerts. It is SO awesome to get all kinds of love and support for this story. Please keep it up!**

**As always, read and enjoy.**

"How about this one? Should I keep this one around?" Sirius lifted his arms out of box at the base of the kitchen counters, holding yet another poster with a bikini-clad blonde posing seductively for the camera. I laughed, leaning forward to rip the poster from his hands.

"How many of those do you have?" I paused shaking my head. "Never mind, I don't want to know. But I am starting to think you have a thing for blondes." I tossed the poster over my shoulder, letting it flutter into the pile of posters that started to build behind me.

"Clearly, I do have a thing for blondes," he retorted, winking at me playfully. I leaned forward again, this time to shove him. I managed to catch him off balance and he fell to the floor, collapsing near another cardboard box that we had yet to tackle.

I had been there for about a week and had decided to keep my promise to Mr. Potter. Sirius and I were taking the day, New Years Eve to be exact, to finally unpack the boxes that littered his apartment. We had tackled nearly half of them…in the kitchen…but we kept getting sidetracked by random knick knacks we found inside the boxes.

In the week we had spent together, I had gotten more and more comfortable around him. We joked around, we laughed, we spent the days touring the city. He could make me laugh like no one else could…and I found that I, surprisingly enough, could make him laugh too.

I pulled another box in front of me, digging through it for a moment, only to find that it was stuffed full of nothing but boxers and socks. "I found all your underwear," I said, waggling my eyebrows suggestively. "Maybe I'll tuck some away in my pockets and wave them around at the next Hogsmeade trip."

"Like this?" he responded, pulling another pair of my underwear from his sweatpants pocket. I shrieked in surprise, knocking him back to the ground in my haste to retrieve my undergarments. I climbed over him, reaching to try and snatch the fabric from him, but he held it at arm's length, unwilling to give it up.

That was when I realized…I was lying on him, my face far too close to his for comfort. I was nestled between his legs, my hips resting comfortable just below his navel. He must have realized the position we were in too, but he didn't say anything. He just looked at me. I let his gray eyes mesmerize me just for a moment before I climbed off him, using his toned core to push myself off the ground.

I walked over him and snatched the underwear from his hands, stuffing them into my pocket. Well, technically his pocket. I had stolen a pair of his sweatpants to wear for the day. They were loose against my hips, way too big for me, but I found them oddly comfortable anyways. That, and they were Sirius Black's.

I was silently giddy whenever I thought of the number of girls who would love to be in my position at that moment, wearing a pair of Sirius Black's sweat pants.

As I made my way to the bedroom to put the underwear back in my trunk, there was a loud, continuous tapping at the window in the living room. Furrowing my brow, I opened the hatch and allowed the two large owls to flutter in, each sticking out their legs to me. I untied both of the letters quickly, latching the window against the cold weather as soon as the owls flew out once again.

"Who are those from?" Sirius asked, picking himself up off the floor and moving toward me. I opened the first scanning it quickly before handing it over to Sirius.

"James wondering if we wanted to come to his house for a New Year's Eve party. Remus, Peter, and Mary will be there. He wrote to Alice and Frank, but is waiting to hear from them."

Sirius shrugged his shoulders, handing the letter back to me. "You want to go?"

I nodded my head quickly, sticking my pinky finger in a small slot of the second envelope. I pulled out the thick parchment, unfolding it.

_You need to come home.  
Mum and dad are going crazy looking for you.  
I'm not kidding with you, come home now_

_Dan_

I walked past Sirius, tossing the letter into the trash can in the kitchen. My family had sent me plenty of letters the past week, all of which begged me to come home. I wasn't quite ready to forgive them yet, so I ignored Daniel's letter, just like I ignored the last hundred that came in through that window with the family owl.

"Another one?" Sirius said, sending me a sympathetic look. I nodded my head, sighing loudly as I made my way back into the living room. He gestured for me to come forward and I obliged, sinking into his body. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me closer into him. I snaked my arms around his waist, snuggling my cheek into his chest. "I'm sorry for that, you know. For everything they're putting you through."

I sighed again, hesitantly pulling away from him. "When did you want to leave for James's house?" I wanted to change the subject, I didn't want to talk about my family anymore.

Sirius shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "Erm- whenever you want, I guess. We can go now?"

"Yeah, let's just go now."

We arrived at James's house less than an hour later. We decided to leave all the clothes and knick knacks on the floor of his kitchen, vowing to return later that night and tackle the rest of the unpacking. I was determined to get those boxes cleared out by the time we went back to school.

Sirius didn't bother to knock this time either, opening the door and walking in as if it were his own home. Which, I guess, it technically was for a year or so. James called to us from the living room, roaring in excitement that his best mate had just arrived. Lily waved to me for her perch next to James. I noticed that Remus was spread out on the couch, his feet kicked up onto the arm rest. Peter sat on the floor, playing a game of Exploding Snaps with Mary, who had decided to come over early as well.

Mary leapt off the floor, running over to me before wrapping her arms around my shoulders, hugging me close. "Oh, Haley, I had no idea that you were staying with Sirius! I got about a dozen letters from your parents over the last week wondering where you were!" She pulled away from me, whacking me on the arm. "Next time, answer me back when I write you a letter!"

I apologized to her, laughing as she pulled me deeper into the living room. I sat next to her on the floor while Sirius collapsed into an armchair near the couch that James was lounged on.

Mary and Peter finished the game, Mary nearly had her eyebrows singed off in the process, and we sat there in silence for a moment, wondering what to do.

"Well, my mum is making dinner for everyone tonight, but we could play quidditch until then. We have a couple of hours," James suggested with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"Oh, yes, please," Mary said, sitting up quickly and tapping James on the arm rapidly. "I haven't been able to practice in weeks, because we live in the middle of a muggle subdivision." She paused to sigh. "I've been dying to play, I really have been."

Remus, who wasn't on the house team, nodded his head in agreement. "I like to play," he said, "I wouldn't mind a game or two."

Lily and Sirius both nodded in agreement, even Peter, who looked to be on the verge of wetting himself in excitement, looked like he was eager to participate in a game. I glanced wide-eyed and nervous around the room. "Erm…I can't."

James looked around at me, his brow furrowed. "And why not?"

I glanced down at the floor, playing with my hands in my lap. "Erm…well…I've never actually…you know, rode a broom before."

James shot up from the couch, nearly knocking Lily in the head with his knee. "What?! What do you mean you've never rode a broom before?"

I shrugged. "I don't know how else to put it! I've never rode a broom before!"

He looked over to Sirius, who confirmed the news with a brief nod of his head. "Sorry to tell you, mate, but it's true. She hasn't ridden a broom before." James, clearly devastated by the news, got up from the couch and wound his way through the crowded living room. He appeared a few moments later with two brooms in his hand. He handed one to me, hauling me to my feet my grabbing under my arm.

"Come on everyone. We're going to play quidditch."

I groaned in response as James pulled me out of the living room, grabbing my jacket and handing it to me. I pulled it on slowly, trying to prolong the inevitable as long as possible. My fellow Gryffindors all excitedly pulled on their shoes and jackets, chatting about who was going to be on whose team and who was going to take the responsibility of teaching me.

"It'll be me," Sirius volunteered, almost gleefully, "I have the list, after all." He paused to pull the list out from his jeans pocket. I opened my mouth to wonder how he had, once again, gotten it from me. More often than not, I didn't know where it was anymore. I shut my mouth though, shaking my head, deciding that I would never figure it out and that it would be in my best interest to just give up and go with the flow. "Come on, Haley. Time to learn how to fly."

I groaned again, slumping out of the foyer and toward the backyard, where James was already passing out broomsticks. Sirius and Remus high-fived, giving me time to try and hide the broomstick James handed me in the house behind a bush that was nestled next to the house.

"I saw that!" Mary exclaimed, pointing to me with her index finger. "HA! I don't think so, Haley. You pick that broom up and get over here."

I slunk over, removing the broom from the bush, and took a spot next to Sirius in the large yard. James had already decided to split up the teams: him and Mary against Remus and Lily. James had already told Peter to sit this one out. Peter, disappointed that he wouldn't get to play this round, conjured a wooden chair and took a seat near the porch.

Sirius pulled me off to the side, an excited grin on his face that he was finally able to teach me to ride a broomstick. "Okay, the first thing you need to know is that you have to be determined. You have to tell the broomstick exactly what you want it to do."

I eyed the broom warily as he continued to talk, not really sure about this one. I tuned back into his speech just as he climbed onto the broom, hovering a few feet above the ground. He looked so free. I wanted to have that same wild look, that wide smile.

So I climbed onto the broom, waiting for something to happen. When it didn't, I raised my eyebrows at him. "So…what now?"

"You have to kick off the ground," Sirius laughed, "You can't just stand there!"

I mimicked him for a moment under my breath before kicking off the ground. I shrieked loudly as the broom shot fifteen feet into the air. The air seemed to be sucked from my lungs, my heart fell to the pit of my stomach.

"Oh hell no, oh hell no, oh hell no," I said over and over again, squeezing my eyes closed and clapping my hands over them in a feeble attempt to forget that I was a story and a half above ground. Sirius was roaring with laughter as he rose up to hover next to me. He leaned over, grasping my wrists gently with his hands and pulling them away from my face. I resisted for only a moment before I realized that I was slowly sinking to one side of the broom.

I quickly grabbed onto the handle of the broom, squeezing my hands so tightly against the wood that my knuckles turned white.

"Relax, Haley!" Sirius chuckled, "open your eyes! Look at all you can see from up here."

"Idon'tlikeheights," I mumbled under my breath, refusing to look down.

"What was that?" Sirius said, scrunching his brow together.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm afraid of heights. Get me down from here."

He laughed again, clapping his hands against his thighs. "You have to tell the broom where to go, not me."

"Broom, I want to get dow-aggggrrrrrrggghhhhh!" Instead of taking me down, like I was pleading for it to do, the broom shot up another ten feet into the air. I clutched frantically at handle, hyperventilating at this point in time. Sirius slowly rose up next to me, laughing again at my distress. "This isn't funny! Get me down!"

"Okay, okay," Sirius said, his hands in the air in surrender. "Just tell the broom to let you down. You have to be firm, it'll listen to you."

"I've already tried that," I said shrilly, my hyperventilating at an all time high. Sirius sighed, leaning over to grab the handle of my broomstick. "What are you doing?" My eyes shot open, feeling the slight movements his added weight did to the handle.

"Calm down," he said soothingly, "and take your hands off the handle. I'm going to tell it what to do."

"You want me to do what?" I tightened my grip on the broom, not wanting to let it go. I glanced over the side of the broom. Bad idea, considering I was twenty-five feet up in the air. I nearly fainted, but managed to fight the urge by taking massive breaths.

"Just let go, grab onto my arm for balance if you need to."

I slowly removed one hand, trying to forget that I was so high above the ground, and placed it slowly on his forearm. As soon as I was comfortable, I removed my other hand and clutched onto his forearm. Sirius, however, didn't bother moving slowly or carefully as he grabbed onto the handle, lurching me forward slightly, and ordered the broom (silently, of course) to lower down to the ground.

As soon as I was within a couple feet of the snow, I rolled off the broom, scuttling up to the house and sat in the snow next to the chair that Peter was still perched in, watching the 2-on-2 quidditch match.

"You can take my spot, Peter, I'm never going on a broom again."

Peter shot out of his chair, pumping his fist in the air in excitement. However, just as he was about to straddle a broom and fly off after Sirius, Mrs. Potter announced dinner, explaining that she thought it would take longer. Peter slumped back to the ground, disappointed that he wouldn't be able to take part in a match…again.

Remus and Lily flew to the ground, high-fiving each other as soon as they touched down. Lily linked arms with me, leading me into the house. The others followed suit, scrambling into the house to sit at the, still ornately decorated, dining room table.

"Thank you so much for having us over for dinner, Mrs. Potter," Lily said politely, still trying to suck up to her boyfriend's mum. I managed to hide my smirk by taking a sip of water.

"Oh, you're more than welcome, honey," Mrs. Potter said as she patted Lily affectionately on the cheek. "James talks so highly about all of you, you're like family to him. And any extended family of James is an extended family of ours." She paused to place a cream soup and a carved turkey on the table, summoning the rest of the food to soar gracefully into the room. "The holidays are here to remind of love and loyalty, of good memories with family and friends, even in these dark times." She paused again, patting her son lovingly on the shoulder. "All of you are welcome in our home at anytime."

"Thanks, Mrs. P!"

"You're one cool lady."

"Wow, this smells amazing!"

Despite the spread of food that was put in front of me and most of my amazing friends seated around me, I couldn't help but notice the pang of discomfort that settled in the pit of my stomach. Mrs. Potter's words reminded me of my family- how I wasn't able to spend Christmas with them, how I had been ignoring their letters, how my mother was probably worried sick about me.

I put down my fork, chewing the turkey I had put in my mouth slowly. This wasn't me. I wasn't this person that disinherits their family, who refuses to talk to them. Despite all the chatter around us, Sirius was the only one that seemed to notice my sudden distress.

He looked over at me, his brow furrowed. "Are you okay, Haley?"

I nodded quickly, but placed my napkin on the table. "Can we talk for a minute, Sirius? Privately?"

His furrowed brow quickly turned to one of concern as I led him out of the room. Just out of the dining room, I leaned against the wall and spoke slowly and quietly. "Sirius, I want you to take me home."

Whatever was on the forefront of his mind, it obviously wasn't this. "Wh-what?"

I took a deep breath in. "I want you to take me home. I'm not this person…I just want to go home."

Sirius held his breath, clearly upset by what I had said. "You're sure this is what you want?" At this point I noticed that he wasn't just upset…he was mad.

"Sirius?" I said softly, reaching out to touch his arm, but he yanked away from me quickly. I recoiled my hand, surprised at his sudden hostility.

He turned on his heel and marched back into the dining room, grabbing his wand from the dining room table. "I'll be back," he said shortly, receiving waves of questions from my other friends. I didn't bother to stop in and say goodbye- I would write to Lily and Mary later about the whole thing. Sirius stormed out of the dining room, not looking at me as he made his way toward the front door. I took that as a hint to follow, which I did, with my head down, staring at the floor in confusion.

Did I really do something so bad?

The ride back to his apartment was silent and tense. I kept my grip around his waist as loose as I could, not wanting to upset him even further. He decided to stay on the bike as we pulled up to his flat. I slowly climbed the stairs to his building, unlocking the front door with the key he handed me over his shoulder. I used my wand to unlock his flat door, entering just long enough to gather all of my things.

As I made to exit the flat, I noticed all of the clothes and posters still scattered across the kitchen floor. We had a ton of fun over the last week, growing closer than I thought possible. But I needed to go home. I needed to see my mum and dad, to be picked on by my brother. I needed them, I really did.

I shrunk my trunk before leaving his apartment, locking the door swiftly behind me. As I reached the motorbike, I tied my trunk to the back. Sirius still wasn't bothering to look at me. I was barely settled on the back of the bike by the time he took off down the street again, forcing me to grab a hold of his waist like my life depended on it.

The ride back to my house was long and tense. He didn't say a word, didn't turn back to see if I was okay. Just kept plugging along the highways, whipping through side streets, and winding in and out of traffic.

As we approached my house, I noticed that the living room and kitchen lights were still turned on. My bedroom light was turned on and there was a slight movement inside. I sighed deeply, the discomfort in the pit of my stomach lessening slightly as I took in the sight of my home. I quickly unlatched the trunk from the back of the bike, setting into the snow with a heavy thump.

"Listen, Sirius," I started, wanting to thank him for letting me stay at his apartment, "I really just wanted to say-"

But I didn't get any farther than that. As soon as I started talking, Sirius had kicked his bike into gear, not even looking at me as he sped away.


	20. Chapter 20

**IT'S CHAPTER 20 TIME!  
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"I just don't know what to do!" I finished in frustration, letting my hands fall into my lap. I was seated on the floor of our dormitory at the foot of Lily's bed. She was lying on her stomach on the soft mattress, practicing her French braiding skills on my curly, blonde hair. "Did I really do something so wrong?"

We had been back in school for a week already and the only thing that Sirius did to acknowledge my existence was to hand the piece of parchment with my list written on it, a few different things signed off from over the holiday. After that, he merely walked away, refusing to say anything to me.

And it was really starting to get under my skin.

Alice looked at me sympathetically. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. Boys will be boys. He's probably mad that you pulled him away from his friends on New Year's Eve. I mean, he probably ended up going back anyways, but-"

Mary shook her head quickly. "No, after that he didn't come back to James's house. We all thought you guys left to…you know…" She waggled her eyebrows, licking her lips seductively. I laughed, throwing a pillow at her.

"Clearly not."

Lily was being quiet, running her fingers through my blonde hair to pull the braid out. She started back at the top of my head, separating a few locks of hair into three separate pieces.

"What do you think, Lily?" Alice asked, trying to include the quiet girl into the conversation. Lily contemplated for a moment before answering.

"I think he was genuinely hurt by the whole ordeal."

I pulled away from her, glancing over my shoulder. "You think I hurt him?"

She paused for a moment before nodding her head. "Yeah, I think so, but not on purpose. And I don't even think you realized that you did it."

Mary scooted closer to me, sliding across the wooden floor quickly. "This I have to hear."

Lily seemed to be uncomfortable, propping herself up on the bed by placing her chin in the palms of her hands. "Well, think about it. He doesn't have a family to go back to and-"

"What does that have to do with it?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Just hear me out. He doesn't really have a family. James has taken him in, but that doesn't really count. I mean, he was probably excited that he had someone to relate to. One of his good friends just ran away from home, she was recently fighting with her family. Everything was all good and dandy." She paused to pick at her fingernails. "And then you decided to go back. It was a kick in the gut to him, I'm sure. It was just another reminder that he doesn't have a family to go back to."

I sighed. "So you're saying I should apologize to him?"

She shook her head, snorting in amusement. "Oh, Merlin, no. He needs to grow up a bit."

"I completely agree with Lily. It makes total sense," Mary interjected. She shook her head slowly. "You know, I've been on the Quidditch team with him for quite a few years and I've never really thought about it until now." She paused dramatically, looking at the three of us in the eye. "Sirius has two settings. He's either hilarious or he's infuriated. There's really no in between for him."

I nodded in agreement. It really was all coming together, not that I could confront him on it. One, he wasn't talking to me at the moment and two, I certainly didn't have the courage to do so. I sighed again, turning around so I could slump against Lily's bed frame. She moved her hands forward, starting up her French braiding once again.

Mary pushed herself off the floor, digging through her trunk to pull out her quidditch robes. She tossed them on over her sweatpants and sweatshirt before grabbing her broom from underneath the bed. I eyed it warily, still not completely over the emotional trauma the last broom brought me. "I have to get to Quidditch practice, next game is in two months. Then, James has us congregating after for Operation LBP." She chuckled before rolling her eyes, causing us all to giggle helplessly.

Operation LBP was supposed to be under wraps, but we all knew what it was. James only talks about it every chance he gets, trying to be quiet when he's making plans. But it's no use. James enters every room like an air horn in a church confessional.

Operation LBP (also known as Operation Lily's Birthday Party) was set for the last weekend of January. From the rumors that had been going around, it sounded like it was going to be a big soiree. After all, James always went all out for his friends.

"I'll try and squeeze out more from Sirius at practice today," Mary finished before she shut the dormitory door tightly behind her.

I groaned in frustration, slumping even further against the bed frame. "Ugh, what am I going to do?"

Alice rolled off her bed, sliding onto the floor next to me. She whipped out the piece of parchment from behind her back, smiling widely at me. "You're going to forget about Sirius Black for a little bit and do something off this list. You have six months left and we haven't done one together in awhile."

I grinned at my best friend, softly taking the parchment. My breathing hitched in my throat as I glanced over all his signatures, but I pushed that thought quickly from my mind. "Okay, what should we do?"

Alice shrugged. "I don't know. How about number 12?"

I shook my head, scrunching my face in disagreement. "No, I don't think so. I'm not wearing a skirt and it doesn't count on the weekends."

"Number 23? You could use Snape!" Lily interjected, causing Alice and me to laugh wholeheartedly.

"I don't have a potion ready, but you better believe that when I do, he will be the first person I test it on."

Alice scanned the list once again. "How about number 21? You could do it now since it's the weekend and we don't have much else to do right now. I could even do it with you. I've always liked a challenge."

"Why do you two always get yourselves into situations where you could get yourself killed?" Lily groaned, letting her head fall dramatically to her bed. I chuckled. James, Alice and I weren't planning on telling Lily about the Remus is a werewolf fiasco, but Remus insisted that we do.

He thought that since James and Lily were clearly in it for the long haul, Lily should at least know where her boyfriend is running off to once a month. Lily, once she found out, was floored, but her respect for James grew. It took a big person, she decided, to stick with a friend despite having qualities that society deemed repulsive.

"The Whomping Willow isn't going to kill you," Alice argued, "Just…fatally maim."

I let out a burst of laughter. "Okay, it's decided. We're going to do number 21. I have to get it checked off eventually and doing this will take my mind off things better than anything else on that list."

Lily rolled off her bed as Alice and I stuffed our feet into sneakers. She threw on her coat before slipping on her own pair of ratty tennis shoes. I raised my eyebrows, surprised that she had decided to tag along. "What?" she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I have to witness at least one. Besides, who is going to run to Madam Pomfrey when you get yourself strung up in that tree?"

I had to admit, she did have a valid point.

This is how we got Lily Evans to march out to the Whomping Willow with us to witness Alice and me trying to touch the trunk…which had been against the rules at Hogwarts for the past year or so, since that third year tried to do the same thing and nearly had his eye taken out. Which is exactly why we were about to try the exact same thing.

"I think we need a game plan," Alice said as soon as we stopped in the front of the tree, just outside its lashing boundary.

"Erm- don't get killed?"

Alice rolled her eyes, but continued on. "No, really, should we have a strategy here? Like, I distract it while Haley runs to touch the trunk?"

I cleared my throat, glancing over Lily to look at her. "There is more than one branch, Alice. Distracting it wouldn't do any good." She seemed to contemplate that for a moment, shrugging her shoulder casually. "I think we should just make a break for it." I clapped my hands together, the sound muffled from the thick gloves I wore to protect them from the harsh cold.

"And you're sure you want to do this?" Lily asked, hesitant of the whole situation that was about to play out before her.

Alice and I both nodded our heads enthusiastically.

"Yeah, absolutely."

"Let's do this thing!"

Lily took a few steps back, her sneakers crunching in the untouched snow. Alice and I crept forward, pausing slightly to peek at each other before crossing into the tree's territory together. The branches rustled slightly, though I wasn't sure if that was from the wind or because it could feel a surprise attack coming on.

I continued to sneak forward, taking quite a few more steps before a heard a creaking up above me. "Haley! Watch out!" I heard a split second before a body slammed into me, knocking me flat on my stomach. A branch had evidently been hovering over my head, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Alice saw it and ran over, knocking me down just in time for the branch to swipe at the exact spot my torso had been just a moment before.

That's when all hell broke loose.

The tree started to sway back and forth, whipping its branches menacingly in the air. I realized how bad of an idea it had been to do this, but I had already dived headfirst into it, almost literally. Might as well finish out the task.

I wove through the swinging branches, going left then right then landing flat on my stomach before pouncing up to jump over another branch that tried to hit me on the ground. I was rather proud of myself. I felt like a ninja for how quickly I was moving.

The trunk was in my reach. I only needed a couple more steps, but the closer I got to the trunk, the more violently the branches swung at me.

"Oh holy- what the hell is she doing?"

I recognized the voice…though the sheer panic in the tone wasn't something I was used to. "Are you talking to me again, Sirius?" I managed to yell through my ragged breathing, throwing myself to the left once again to avoid a branch that had whipped out at me. "Because I was under the impression we were- HAHA! Got it!"

Just as my fingertips grazed the bark on the trunk, a wild branch struck me in the side, sending me flying a few feet in the air before landing in a disheveled pile in the snow. As I landed, I heard an audible crack before waves of nauseating pain radiated from my side. I figured I had broken a rib or two on the fall.

Only problem was, I wasn't quite out of the radius of the tree's branches yet.

"Haley!" I heard a few people scream at once before someone slammed down their gear and dove into the branches head on. I felt someone grab a hold of my upper arm, hauling me painfully to my feet.

"You have to move, Haley, come on," Sirius said as he grabbed onto the side where the alleged fracture had taken place. I hissed in pain, but managed to move forward. Sirius, being the gentleman that he was, took a few swipes to the cheek by a couple smaller branches, but he forged on, not stopping to check on his cuts until we were safely out of range of the tree.

I fell to the ground again, clutching my side in surprise. "Wow. That really, really hurts."

"How could you do something that stupid?" Sirius yelled as he bent over, grabbing onto his knees while huffing and puffing to catch his breath. "The Whomping Willow? Really?"

My oh-so-loyal friends decided to disband at this point, making their way up to the castle with James in tow. Evidently no one wanted to see Sirius infuriated with me…again.

I managed to push myself up off the ground, audibly groaning in pain before I grabbed onto my side once again to support the rib that was broken. "I'm going to the hospital wing. Bye, Black."

"I just saved your life," Sirius scoffed, clearly in disbelief about my obstinate attitude. "Again."

I waved him off, continuing my slow trek up to the castle.

"You aren't even going to say thank you?"

I shook my head, not bothering to wait for him as he grabbed his Quidditch gear from the snow and jogged up the hill to walk with me.

"You're being incredibly stubborn, you know that?"

I mimicked him, but truthfully, I knew I was being a bit stubborn. Sirius always seemed to be there when I needed him and here I was being cruel after he had saved me, yet again, from death. But I couldn't let him have the benefit of the doubt quite yet.

"Merlin, Haley will stop to talk to me for a moment?"

I stopped in my tracks, glaring up at him with my index finger pointed straight into his chest. "That's just lovely, Sirius Black. All of a sudden you have an interest in talking to me. Well I had an interest in talking to you-" I paused, dramatically stuffing my finger further into his chest. "For the last two weeks! But have you had any interest in talking to me? No." I started walking again, leaving him to either follow or stay where he was.

He chose to follow.

"That's only because you skipped out on me at James's party. Your parents were making your life miserable and-"

"Oh, stop it, Sirius Black," I nearly shouted to him, despite the protest my rib was giving out, "they were just writing to see if I was okay. I owed them an explanation. I wanted to go home and see them. They are my family and sometimes they drive you crazy, but overall you can't do things like that to your family. I was being awful to them and-"

What happened next was the dead last thing I would have expected to happen. While I paused to take a deep breath to continue my rant, Sirius Black had quickly thrown his stuff into the snow, taken a step forward and kissed me.

The action was lost on me as I went numb from my head to my toes, butterflies exploded in my stomach. Then I realized what was going on. Sirius Black was kissing me. Sirius Black was kissing me. Sirius Black was actually kissing me.

He wrapped his hands around my hips, pulling me closer to him. Despite the even deeper protest my rib was putting up, I slowly cupped my hand on the side of his neck, pulling him closer to me, if that was even possible.

He opened his mouth slightly, as if asking permission, and I obliged quickly, officially turning our innocent kiss into something a bit more. His hands wandered across my back, gravitating toward my hips, before making their way back up to my neck.

The kiss quickly turned from one of want into one of need. His kisses were desperate and hungry, as if he couldn't get them in fast enough. And I knew that I couldn't get them in fast enough.

Something within the pit of my stomach stirred, something that I had never felt before. I wanted him. I wanted him so bad.

He was a brilliant kisser, though I didn't have any experience to base it off of. And when we finally broke apart, he rested his forehead on mine, keeping his gray eyes closed, as if reliving the moment over and over in his mind. I breathed heavily, trying to gasp in the air that I had been missing out on for the past couple minutes.

I guess the memory of it was too much to bear, as he moved his hands from my hips to the sides of my neck, now kissing me once again, but more tenderly, savoringly.

Then the thought popped in my head…having a boy kiss me was on the list. He had to just be kissing me because of the last thing on my list. There was no way that he would be interested in me…like that.

Inside, my heart broke into a million pieces as I realized that my first kiss…my first kiss that I had, just a few moments ago, been so excited about because it was with Sirius Black…was wasted. Wasted on a stupid list of things to get checked off on.

I broke away from him, scanning his gray eyes questioningly. I didn't even give him the chance to explain- I didn't want to hear that confession coming out of his mouth.

Instead, I hightailed it toward the castle, leaving Sirius in a confused heap near the edge of the front lawn.


	21. Chapter 21

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"You haven't come out of here in days. You've barely made it to your lessons. You didn't even bother turning in your Defense Against the Dark Arts essay." Alice paused to grab something out of my bag, quickly signing off on number three- forget to turn in an essay. "You really should get something to eat. I've already told Lily that she isn't allowed to sneak food up here to you anymore."

I grumbled at her, refusing to poke my head out from under the covers. I hadn't exactly told the girls what I had been hiding from. I only instructed them to tell people that I was sick. I managed to go to my other classes…you know, the ones that didn't have Sirius in them.

Luckily for me, Mary had witnessed me half-dragging myself toward the Hospital Wing after the…incident…and had decided to sign me off on the whole Whomping Willow thing. Being the good friend that she was, she also signed me off on going to the Hospital wing. That way, I didn't have to associate myself with Sirius again if I didn't have to. I swore to never go near the Whomping Willow again. I nearly signed it in blood and made Alice do an Unbreakable Vow with me, but she said I was taking it a bit far.

So maybe I was. Kill me.

I heard Alice's muffled sigh before she ripped the covers off of my body. I moved quickly, trying to force the sheets back up to my shoulders, but the thin fabric slipped between my fingers before I could get a good grasp on it. I squinted at the glow that shown in through the window. I had managed to completely avoid the daylight for a good chunk of the weekend.

Unfortunately, that time had come to an end.

"Seriously, Haley, what in the hell has gotten into you?" Alice said, slowly sinking into the bed near my feet. She gazed in concern toward me, her shoulders squared up as if she were ready for a brewing fight. "This isn't like you at all. I'm worried, Lily is worried, Mary is worried. Hell, even Sirius is-"

"Don't mention Sirius," I cut across, my eyes flashing dangerously. "Just don't say his name in front of me."

Alice sighed, running her hands along the smooth sheets. "You're being a bit dramatic, don't you think?" When I didn't answer, she scooted up on the bed so she was sitting next to my hip. "Tell me what's going on, please?"

I refused to say anything for quite a few minutes, instead chewing on my lip in a way that inhibited any thought running through my mind. Finally, as I realized that Alice wasn't going to leave without an explanation, I said, "Sirius kissed me."

The reaction from her was exactly as I had anticipated. Her jaw nearly dropped to the floor, her eyes lit up with excitement. She hopped onto the bed next to me, her knees grazing my ribcage. She bounced happily, my body moving like a wave against the soft mattress. "You had your first kiss and you didn't even bother to tell me?"

I laughed, scooting myself up so I had my back pressed against the wooden headboard. I grabbed my pillow and held it tightly against my stomach. "I didn't bother to tell you, because it doesn't count as a first kiss."

Alice stopped bouncing as she peered skeptically at me out of the corner of her eye. "Don't tell me you've already had your first kiss and you've been lying to me all this time." I bit my lip again, shaking my head slowly. "Then what exactly do you mean by it doesn't count?"

I blew out my cheeks, crossing my arms over the tip of the pillow. "The only reason that Sirius kissed me was because it was on the list."

"That rat bastard. He told you that?"

I shook my head quickly this time, my eyes widening. "No, no, no. I haven't even talked to him about it. I've managed to avoid him like the plague, but…" I trailed off, tears gathering at the corners of my eyes. Oh God, now I was crying. I dabbed at my right eye with the tip of my finger, pretending something was in my eyelid so it wouldn't look like I was on the verge of sobbing. "It's obvious isn't it? That's the only reason Sirius would kiss me."

Alice opened and closed her mouth for a moment, her brow furrowing in confusion. That look of confusion almost immediately turned into one of anger. "Haley Elizabeth Brams," she said slowly. She was glaring at me as if I had personally offended her. "You stop that talk right now. I cannot believe you would think that. You are smart and pretty and my best friend. How could you think that's the only reason someone would kiss you? That's absolutely-"

"The truth," I cut her off again, "This is Sirius Black we're talking about. He shags girls that have twice the leg and half the brains that I do in abandoned classrooms. It would be like…it would be like a Greek god falling in love with a mortal."

She snorted, leaning forward to grab onto my hand. "And that, my dear friend, is the reason we have tales of Hercules. It is possible." She paused, cocking her head slightly as she continued to stare at me. "Listen, Sirius really cares for you. He really does and I would absolutely hate for you to lose out on that because you're too chicken to face him." She smiled slightly as she skimmed her gaze over my features. "Everyone always talks about the womanizing Sirius, funny Sirius, reckless and crazy Sirius, but no one ever mentions how good of a man he is or how he's one of the best friends that you've ever had."

I opened my mouth, shocked she would even say such a thing. "Alice, you know that you and Mary are my best friends. You've been with me since first year and-"

Alice shook her head, her smile growing. "Yes, we've been your best friends, but Sirius brought you out of your comfort zone. He always challenges you, always gets you to do things you've never thought of trying. We couldn't do that, even after the six years we've been together." She laughed at my sheepish gaze. "Don't feel bad, we aren't upset. We're happy that someone has been able to do that for you, honestly."

My sheepish smile turned into a wide one, causing her to giggle. "Besides," she went on, her gaze firming into one of utmost seriousness, "Professor McGonagall says that unless you are dead, dying, or have been maimed beyond the point of crawling to her office, you have to be at your first detention tonight or she'll double them." She reached forward to pat my leg, but quickly retracted her hand, her nose wrinkled in slight disgust. "Mmmm, prickly."

I managed to slog my way to Professor McGonagall's office, not bothering to brush my hair in hopes that it would send Sirius running in another direction out of repulsion. I took my time, taking the long way around the castle, but still managing to get there with five minutes to spare. I took a seat opposite her desk, squirming uncomfortably under the circumstances.

"You're late, Mr. Black."

I slid down in my seat, hoping slightly that he wouldn't notice me. He peered out of the corner of his eye for a second before throwing himself into the chair next to me. "Sorry, professor, got lost on my way here."

McGonagall scrutinized him over her spectacles for a moment before sighing. She pushed the essays she had been grading to the side before rising from her desk and gesturing for us to follow. She opened another door near the back, leading us into the wide room filled with all sorts of animals. So this is where she kept all the transfiguration assignments. My eyebrows were nearly in my hairline as I gazed around the room, taking in the different animals locked in their specified cages.

Silly of me to think that she would just transfigure all of them into pillows and save herself some work. But, then again, what would she give James and Sirius to do?

"You'll be cleaning the cages," the professor said, waving her wand easily so mine and Sirius's flew into her open palm. She placed them in the pocket of her robes. I groaned as inaudibly as I could, but she unfortunately still heard me. "Would you like something else to do, Miss Brams? Perhaps accompanying Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest to catch some bowtruckles for Professor Kettleburn's magical creatures class this week?"

I smiled weakly, shaking my head. "This is perfect, thank you."

"You have three hours." With that, she shut the door, locking us in. I contemplated scraping at the door like a lost kitten for the next three hours, but then I figured that would be pushing my luck just a bit. I turned, ignoring Sirius completely, and picked up a set of brushes and a bucket filled with soapy water.

I stopped in front of a cage with a large raven stuffed inside. It squawked menacingly, so I shook my head and moved onto the next animal. A painted turtle. A slow moving vegetarian. Just my kind of animal.

"Are you going to talk to me at all?" Sirius asked from across the room, where he had challenged himself with a different raven, which started squawking as if Sirius had a choke hold on the animal. He glowered at it, cleaning the cage quickly all the while avoiding the pecks the raven tried to deliver from inside the cage.

I, yet again, ignored him, slowly brushing the grime off of the front of the tank. It fell off in large chunks, littering the air with a foul smelling odor. I wrinkled my nose, sniffing loudly as I covered my nostrils with my wrist. I went back to cleaning the tank with gusto, admiring the china-like markings on the shell of the turtle. Hmm, must have been the third years.

"Come on, Haley," Sirius sighed, throwing his brush into the bucket at his feet. The water splashed over the side, slapping the floor before making a small puddle. "Don't be like that, it was just a kiss."

"It wasn't for me," I said softly, dipping the brush into the water and scrubbing the tank once again, even though it was the cleanest it had probably been in years.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, leaning against the wall, completely abandoning his bucket all together. If I were to hazard a guess, it would be that he and James did that most often during detentions. And by that, I mean nothing.

I sighed, moving on to the next animal, a harmless looking white rabbit. It hopped further into its cage, kicking up pieces of hay as it moved. I started to scrub the grime off that cage, letting it fall to the floor haphazardly. "It was my first kiss, Sirius, my first one and you just threw it away for that stupid list-"

"Oh, ho, ho," Sirius cut me off, pushing himself off the wall as he made his way toward me. I furiously scrubbed the cage, trying to distract myself from the boy that had turned his attention to me. "Now we're getting to the heart of it. Why would you think the only reason I would kiss you is because of that list?"

"I don't know," I answered untruthfully, moving onto the next cage, which happened to be another raven. I skipped it and, instead, moved onto a cage filled with mice. They stumbled over each other as they tried to run from my brush.

"Yes you do."

I didn't say anything for a moment and Sirius sighed in defeat. "I don't know why you would think that, Brams. You're perfectly capable of being kissed by someone who doesn't have an ulterior motive at hand."

"And you don't have an ulterior motive?" I snapped back at him, glaring from the corner of my eye. I stopped my scrubbing all together, tossing the brush into the bucket, where it echoed with a soft splash. "You're Sirius Black, you wouldn't have any interest in a girl like me-"

Sirius laughed humorlessly as he took another few steps towards me. I shuffled back, unhappy that my shoulders met the wall within just a few feet. I put my hands behind my back, looking up at him as I leaned casually against the wall, trying to act cool. Inside, my heart was pattering roughly against my rib cage.

"A girl like you?" he said in a monotone, shaking his head slowly, "and what kind of girl do you think you are, Haley? This I have to hear."

I opened and closed my mouth for a moment before answering. "You're going to end up with someone who is gorgeous, possibly a model, with long, graceful legs and hair that flows like a damn waterfall. Me? I'm pegged for someone like…Remus. Not Remus exactly, but his personality type." I stared furiously up at Sirius, seriously considering stamping my foot in frustration. Luckily, I was able to refrain. "And why would you kiss me, Sirius, why? I've never been kissed me and you had to ruin it, just so I could finish that list. What kind of selfish, egotistical-"

"Brams," he said shortly, cutting me off once again. He was gazing down at me, amusement filling his gray eyes. "I didn't kiss you because of that list and I'm confident enough to say that I didn't ruin your first kiss. In fact, I would say based on your response, that you rather enjoyed it." He smirked as I blushed a deep shade of pink. I trained my eyes at my feet. "And I'm not going to end up with anyone. I have no interest in a long term relationship, getting married, having kids, or any of that nonsense. I'm just out looking for a good time and if that means I want to kiss someone, then I'm going to kiss someone."

He took a few steps forward, pausing just in front of me. He placed his hands on the wall, one on each side of my head, leaning down so his face was a mere three inches from mine. "But just because you think you're a book nerd or that you're pegged for someone like Remus, doesn't mean that you are. You could get any boy you want, Haley, your life is your life." He placed two fingers under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. I nearly lost my breath as he gazed down at me, his gray eyes penetrating into my brown ones. "You should know the only reason I haven't tried to get you into my bed or into an empty classroom is because you're one of my good friends. I couldn't do that to you." He pushed himself away from me, heading back toward his bucket. "But don't think for a second that I haven't thought about it."

I blew out the breath I had been holding in, completely in shock at the admission. Sirius found me…want-able? Did that even count, as Sirius would find anything with legs less hairy than Peter's want-able. I heaved myself from the wall, fully intending on heading back to my bucket.

I heard him mumble a quick "dammit" before turning quickly on his heels, striding back toward me at record speed. I barely had time to react before his hands seized my hips, no longer the gentle, caring Sirius he had been a few days before. He shoved me against the wall, pressing his lips down onto mine with all the fury he could muster. It took me a moment to realize what was happening, but by then I scarcely knew what I was doing with my body.

My hands were clutching at his shoulders, pulling him as close as possible to me. He pressed me against the wall of the room, one hand cupping my neck, the other pulling my shirt up slightly. His fingers grazed the bare skin of my hips, sending shiver rocketing up my spine.

It took all my energy to concentrate on kissing him, as his roaming hand was sending new wants throbbing through my body. He bent down, not bothering to break the kiss, as he lifted me up, wrapping my legs around his waist.

He supported my weight easily, his hands cupping just under my butt and his chest pressed heavily into mine. He deepened the kiss as I wove my arms around his neck, pulling him tighter to me.

Snogging Sirius was more than enjoyable, more than a want. It was a need now. I _needed_ Sirius with every fiber of my mind, body, and soul. He changed plans, breaking the kiss to run his lips down my jaw line, lingering at my neck for a moment. I tilted my head back, closing my eyes as I enjoyed the feeling of his soft lips on my skin.

He stopped all of a sudden, groaning as he pressed his forehead to mine. "I can't do this, Haley, I'm sorry." He let me down carefully before taking a few large steps backward, blowing out his cheeks as he pressed his hands to the top of his head. I pushed myself against the wall, watching him carefully as I tucked my hands behind my back. "And it's not you," he reassured me after a moment, "it's definitely not you." He paused, turning to gaze at me. "It's just…we want two different things, Haley."

"I can want what you want," I frowned, quietly looking up at him from my spot on the wall. I wished we were no longer locked in the room. I wanted nothing more than to sink in my warm, comfortable bed and lay there for the rest of seventh year. I silently cursed Alice for making me get up for this detention.

Sirius shook his head, running one hand roughly through his hair. "No, you can't. And you shouldn't. I don't want a relationship, I don't want the works. You want the works and you should have the works."

We were lucky enough to hear a lock click a second later, McGonagall coming to my rescue an hour and a half early. She studied the room, pursing her lips in disappointment. "An hour and a half and only four cages done? What have you two been doing?"

I blushed scarlet, but Sirius came to my aide. "The cages were dirty, Professor. They haven't been cleaned since Emeric the Eerie came to school here."

I heard McGonagall heave a sigh before stepping to the side, gesturing for us to leave the room. "Mr. Black, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office."

Sirius nodded his head slowly, scooting out of the door and into the hallway at record speed. He didn't even bother to look back at me. I watched the doorway for a few seconds after he disappeared before returning my attention to McGonagall, who had been contemplating the two of us.

She seemed to have changed her mind on saying something, as she just shook her head. "Same time next week, Miss Brams. Please inform Mr. Black," she said dismissively. I took that as my hint to leave.


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry it's a bit late- I've been pretty busy with school work this week! As always, thank you SO MUCH for the continued support. Your alerts and reviews are amazing, so please keep it up!**

**Not much else from me! I hope you enjoy the chapter! Read on!**

Sirius kept his promise, staying as far away from me as possible. Or maybe I stayed as far away from him as possible. Either way, at first, I didn't think I would mind. But as the days wore on, I realized that I really did miss him. I missed his company, his friendship. He was always there to make me laugh, always there to cheer me up. The only thing to look forward to next was the Hogsmeade trip that was coming up that weekend, along with Lily's "surprise" 18th birthday party that James had scheduled for that Saturday night.

Lily was excited, as James as hinted toward other plans. Ones that we didn't even know about. I was rather curious what was going to happen, though James always threw the best parties. Excuse me, James and Sirius always threw the best parties. I sighed at the thought of Sirius, a pang of sorrow rushed momentarily through my veins.

I shook my head, trying to focus on the essay at hand. Fifteen inches on the effects and reasons to use the Draught of the Living Dead. The material was dull and hard to keep my attention on, but I had to finish it. It was due early next week but, judging by the schedule James had planned for everyone, I would not have time during the weekend to work on it.

I had finally gotten into a rhythm of writing the essay when someone grabbed the chair next to me, scrapping it loudly against the floor. It broke me of my concentration, making me jump in response as I shot my head up to look at the person who had just sat down.

"James?" I furrowed my brow, cocking my head slightly to the side. "What are you doing in here? I thought you were working on Lily's birthday stuff."

He shrugged, leaning the chair back until it was balancing on two legs. He placed his hands easily at the back of his head, watching me with interest. "I was, but I actually came to talk to you." He paused as I furrowed my brow even more, sending him a questioning look. "About Sirius."

My expression cleared up, an 'ahhh' moment dawning on my face. "And what about Sirius?" I dipped my quill in my ink, continuing to scratch a few sentences down onto the thick parchment.

"Mostly I wanted to say that he cracked up. He misses you, though he didn't say so." He stared at me through his round lenses, concern shadowing his face. "And I also wanted to apologize. Sirius isn't quite used to having feelings and he doesn't know what to do with them." He sent me a knowing look and, in that moment, I understood where he was getting at.

"I'm going to assume that he told you," I said flatly, furiously dipping my quill into the inkpot. "I thought girls were the only ones who were supposed to gossip."

James laughed loudly, clutching at his stomach as he leaned forward, letting his chair fall back to all fours. "Boys don't _gossip,"_ he said after he contained himself, mostly because Madam Pince had threateningly raised her wand at him, glaring at him over her tortoise-shell spectacles. "We simply discuss the happenings of each other's lives, which doesn't happen often, but Sirius doesn't talk girls with me." He paused, glancing over me thoughtfully. "But he did talk about you." He shrugged his shoulders casually. "Anyways, I was thinking that, maybe you should go on a date."

I was startled by the suggestion, giving him an odd look from the corner of my eye. "Umm…excuse me?"

He smiled widely, nodding enthusiastically. "You know, Hogsmeade trip this weekend. It could be fun, you could ask someone out, maybe head over to that cute little tea shop-"

I caught onto his game immediately. "Sirius has a date, doesn't he?"

His smile slid off his face, quickly turning into a tight grimace. He sighed, slowly nodding his head. I blew out my cheeks, setting my quill down on the wooden table. "You know what, that's okay. I don't care, I really don't. That's good for him."

The thing about James Potter was…he could easily see through things. If he could catch onto Sirius caring about me, then he could catch onto me about not caring. And he did. "Don't say that, Haley, I know you do. You two are good friends and-"

"I have a question for you," I cut him off, wanting to get off the subject. I didn't want to talk about Sirius anymore. I wanted to finish this essay, get into Law school, and move on with my life. I know that's a rapid escalation of events, but I was ready. I really was…okay, I wasn't ready to move on. The thought of Sirius dating another girl three days after he kissed me was kind of a punch in the gut.

But he was honest with me and, as much as I hated to admit it, he was right. We wanted two different things. He wasn't interested in having a relationship with me. He was in the now, living each day as if it were his last. I…well…I was not.

"Why did you choose to become a stag?" I went on, pressing through his attempts to change the subject back. He soon realized, though, that I wasn't interested in talking about Sirius anymore, so he sighed and played along. "Why an animagus? I mean, wasn't it dangerous?"

"I don't really know," he shrugged playing with a piece of string hanging off the end of his robes, "I mean, my patronus is a stag, so I just kind of figured…" He trailed off when another casual shrug. "We needed one animal small enough to get through the tree, you know to press the knot-"

"The knot?" I interrupted, furrowing my brow. "What knot?"

"On the base of the Whomping Willow," he went on, "there's a knot that stops of the tree from moving. You just press it and-" He stopped to mimic the violent branches stopping in midair. "That's how we get to the tunnel. They planted the tree there for Remus, so no one could get hurt by him."

"Hmmm."

"Anyways, we needed one animal to get to the knot at the base of the tree and two animals to help control Remus in case he got out of hand. Once we found out about Remus's furry little problem, and it really was Sirius to figure it out, we wanted to help him any way that we could. So, we worked on being animaguses until we finally got it, middle of fifth year I want to say. Then Remus wouldn't be alone anymore."

I smiled slightly, picking up my quill to continue on with my essay. "That's very noble of you."

"Friends do things like that for friends."

I looked up at him, pursing my lips as if trying to think of what to say. "The stag is fitting then. A male deer, if you didn't know, is very loyal to his herd. He doesn't go off on his own, he sticks close to his family."

James laughed, tipping his chair back once again. "I hadn't thought of it that way, to be honest. Would it change your opinion if I told you that Lily's patronus is a doe?"

I scrunched my nose, pretending to gag. "Oh, if that isn't the sappiest thing I've ever heard, then I don't know what is."

"It's almost like it was meant to be." He clasped his hands together, staring majestically up toward the ceiling.

I laughed again, shaking my head. I turned back to my essay, wanting to finish it. I had finally gotten into a rhythm when James interrupted me. I knew it would be awhile before I found that rhythm once again. It would take even longer now that James was seated next to me.

"So what do you think about Sirius's animagus? The big, black dog?"

I glanced up at him, chewing on my bottom lip. "I hadn't given it much thought to be honest. I'm going to assume that you have a theory, though."

"Probably has something to do with his family. The astronomy of it all. You know, Sirius the big, black dog? The constellation? Plus his whole family is named after stars and constellations. Kind of funny, right?"

"Can't stand astronomy, wouldn't know the difference between Mars and the moon."

James smirked and shook his head before something caught his eye. He leaned forward, letting his chair slam against the stone floor. He perked up, his brown eyes shining with mischief. I groaned, letting my head fall into the palms of my hands. I knew that look, I knew that look well. It was the same exact look that Sirius had when a bad idea popped into his head.

"Oi! McLaggen, get over here!"

My eyes widened as Michael McLaggen sauntered over, his sandy blonde hair falling into his eyes. I quickly turned my glare over to James, who was clearly enjoying this.

Michael McLaggen was technically the same age as us, even though he was a sixth year, but mentally he was about five years younger. The only times he ever opened his mouth was when he was talking about himself and that was, unfortunately, quite often. His ego made Sirius Black's look like a kayak ride on a smooth river. I had, luckily, managed to escape the confines of his attention for the past six years, since I really was a nobody, but it was well known that he was always trying to slither into groups of people that were bigger and more powerful than him.

That included the Marauders.

Since James and Sirius were basically the front runners of their little gang, that meant that McLaggen was constantly trying to sidle up to them. Unfortunately for me, that's exactly what he was ready to do now.

"Potter," he said, clapping James on the shoulder as he reached us, "good to see you, mate. How was your Christmas vacation?" He didn't bother to pause for an answer before moving on. "I spent a week with Annette Gute, our families are very close. Her father is in the process of taking over Gringotts, you know and-"

I widened my eyes at James before pretending to nod off in boredom. He snorted, interrupting McLaggen from his story. "That's all very nice, Michael, but actually I called you over for something else entirely." He pointed at me with his thumb. "You see, Haley Brams here has something to ask you."

I furiously shook my head, looking up at him with saucer-like eyes. Damn that James Potter for getting me into this situation, damn him! "No, no I don't."

James playfully shoved me, his smirk growing on his lips. "Don't be shy now, Haley. You were just telling me how interesting you thought his stories were. You did mention something about Hogsmeade."

If looks could kill, James Potter would have been dead where he sat. He buried his chin into his elbow, covering up his laughs with a hacking cough. And even though I loathed James at this point in time, I couldn't help but realize that he set me up quite nicely for another thing to be checked off. So I brushed off my pride, threw my dignity out the nearest window, and turned to McLaggen with a sweet smile on my face. "Michael, I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend."

McLaggen, as if me asking him wasn't embarrassing enough, got down on one knee and grabbed a hold of my hand. I glared at James again, as he broke out into another round of coughing fits. "I know you've wanted to ask me since third year, Haley Brams. I would be more than happy to share my family's history and knowledge with you."

I quickly withdrew my hand, making a mental reminder to sanitize it as effectively as possible, before shaking my head. "Nope, nope can't do it. Sorry, I can't go to Hogsmeade with you."

James stopped coughing, looking between the two of us with raised eyebrows. "You won't get checked off, you know." He paused to pull out the list, scanning his eyes down to number 19. "I can't-"

"Actually, you can." I jammed my finger onto number 19, pointing it out so he wouldn't miss it. "It only says I have to ask, not that I have to go. I asked, he accepted, I rejected."

Michael watched the two of us, a confused expression on his face. James narrowed his eyes at the parchment before looking up at me, slowly nodding his head. "You have done well, young one, finding a loop hole that I could not see." He grabbed my quill and signed the list. I let a small smirk grow on my lips as he handed it to me, rolling it up into a tight scroll. "You're dismissed, McLaggen."

Michael stood quickly from his perch on the floor, easily towering over us now that he was standing. James leaned back in his seat, letting the chair balance on the two back legs once again. "Are we still going to Hogsmeade, then?"

"Oh, absolutely not," James said shortly, gesturing toward the parchment, "but thanks anyways." He made a motion as if shooing the boy away. Michael slunk away, looking slightly put out. We watched the sixth year walk away for a moment, our eyes trained on him thoughtlessly before he turned back to me. "Well, I'm going to get going. Quidditch practice, you know." He let the chair fall forward, straightening up from his seat. "I'll catch you later, Halligator."

I smiled at the nickname, shaking my head as I bid him farewell. After James left, I was able to finish the essay within a couple of hours. The library was dimly lit with torches by the time I lifted my head, stretching my arms over my shoulders. I was surprised that it was already dark. I guess I had gotten into my essay more than I thought I would.

I stood up, rubbing my hands to try and shake some feeling back into them. I slowly packed my bag, being careful to roll my newly finished essay into a tight, neat scroll. I placed it on top of my books so it wouldn't get smashed under the weight. I hitched my bag over my shoulder, turning to leave the library when I ran into someone. Startled, I snapped my gaze up to the intruder, furrowing my brow together when I realized who it was.

Sebastian Brees was one of the better looking guys in the school. He was a seventh year Ravenclaw, I felt bad that he had to share a dorm with my brother, with jet black hair and bright blue eyes. What got most girls was his sweet smile, along with the dimples that accompanied it. He was incredibly smart, but pretty quiet and shyer than I was, so he mostly kept to himself.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I said, grabbing onto his arm to keep my balance. He gently held onto my waist, helping me stay on my feet. "I didn't even see you there-"

He smiled. "No need to be sorry. I was actually looking for you."

Sebastian Brees. Looking for me. I almost giggled like a fanatic school girl. Luckily, I managed to refrain. I continued to stare up at him, awkwardly might I add, as I wasn't sure what to do or say in this situation. The only boys that ever came looking for me were Sirius and James. Sometimes Remus. Rarely Peter, but those four didn't count anyways.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me to Hogsmeade this weekend."

Yup, that's it. I'm dreaming. I'm in my bed, where I hadn't come out of since Sirius kissed me in detention, and it's clear that I'm having wild dreams about Sebastian Brees, the cute Ravenclaw who doesn't talk and seldom makes eye contact with me. I reached over and pinched my forearm until I realized that A) I was going to have a bruise in that spot tomorrow and B) I certainly was not dreaming.

This was happening, this was actually happening.

I quickly became suspicious, as James and Sirius had done this to me before. I planted my hands on my hips, narrowing my eyes up at him. "Who put you onto it?" I growled, though I didn't pull off menacing very well because of my height and blonde curls, "Was it James? He told you to ask me, didn't he?"

"Actually, he did-"

"Or was it Remus? I never thought he would be in on it, but you never know. It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for."

"He really did-"

"I know it wasn't Sirius, because he isn't speaking to me right now, stupid twat-"

"Haley!" Sebastian laughed, his dimples becoming more prominent against his cheeks. "No one told me to ask you." I furrowed my brow, confusion setting in. He seemed to know where I was going with my train of thought before it escaped from my mouth. "We've had classes together for the last seven years, so I just thought-" He trailed off, a pained look on his face. "Never mind, it was stupid of me, I'm sorry."

I reached out and grabbed his arm before he could turn around. "I would really like to go with you to Hogsmeade, Sebastian. I think that would be lovely. I'm just suspicious, that's all. James has just been trying to set me up with dates recently."

"Well don't be suspicious. We'll just go as friends. I wanted to pick your brain for study habits, since you're constantly beating me in exams," he said with another smile, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets. He started to rock back and forth on his heels. "Meet you in the Great Hall, say, noon? On Saturday?"

I nodded my head, barely registering what just happened as he smiled softly again and walked away. My first thought was that I couldn't believe that just happened. My second thought was if I found out that James actually HAD set me up with a date, I was going to set him on fire.

By the time I made it back to the common room, I could feel the floor pulsing beneath me from the loud music. I yelled the password at the Fat Lady, who could barely hear me herself, and I was nearly blown away when she finally swung open, revealing Lily's birthday party in full effect.

Maroon and gold streamers covered the room from ceiling to floor. Someone had decorated massive posters that flashed different birthday quotes and stuck it on the wall farthest from the door. Another poster was a badly drawn picture of James, but it did sing 'Happy Birthday' loudly and proudly, so I had to give the maker credit for that.

I squeezed my way through the crowd, even the younger students decided to show up for the Head Girl's birthday bash, and found Lily chatting with Alice and Mary near the fireplace. She threw her head back and laughed, her red hair fanning out behind her. I pushed farther into the common room, dumping my book bag into an empty seat.

"Haley!" Lily squealed, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me into the group of seventh year girls. I could smell butterbeer on her breath. I laughed, wishing her a happy birthday. "Where have you been? The party started an hour ago!" She paused, gesturing toward the common room with a wide smile on her face. "Isn't it great? James really outdid himself-"

Sirius edged up to us, a glass of firewhiskey clutched tightly in his hand. He was clearly drunk, as far as I could tell, because his eyes were glazed over and his mouth hung open as if he had forgotten how to close it properly. He swung an arm over Lily's shoulders, nearly spilling his drink on Mary. She jumped back just in time, letting it slosh on the floor. "Did she tell you where she was? Why she's late?"

I furrowed my brow at Sirius, wondering where he was going with this. He ignored my look, going on before someone could interrupt him. "She was with Sebastian Brees-"

Lily's shriek cut him off. He sent her a nasty glare, clearly not expecting the positive reaction. I turned toward Sirius, an expression of disbelief on my face. "How did you know that? You weren't even in there!"

He chose to overlook my question, going on with his interrogation. "And he even asked her out. Isn't that sooooo cute." He dug in his pocket, pulling out my list. Glaring at it quickly, he tossed it over to me. I caught it clumsily between my palms before it dropped to the floor. With a glance, I noticed that he had signed number 6- have a boy ask me to Hogsmeade.

"Come on, Sirius, that isn't fair," Alice said, piping up for my defense. "You should be happy for her, not tearing her down, because Sebastian Brees asked her out." She paused, staring at the black haired boy. "Besides, if YOU wanted to ask her to Hogsmeade, then YOU should have asked her yourself."

Sirius stared at her in loathing for a moment before shaking his head. "I had no intention of asking her to Hogsmeade." He paused, turning his attention to me. "And congratulations on your date," he added on snidely before stalking away.

I snarled at his back, throwing the list down to the ground in frustration as I stomped back up to my dormitory, leaving Alice, Lily, and Mary behind in the common room.


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you SO much for all the lovely reviews. I'm so sorry that this one is a bit late- my boyfriend was in the hospital, so naturally, I was there with him. He is better and home now, hence why I am able to update!**

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The one thing that I learned my seventh year at Hogwarts was that you definitely did NOT want to get on the bad side of Sirius Black. I believe with all of my heart that they only reason he didn't do anything…grotesque…was because I was still friends with James and Remus, who refused to let Sirius do anything to me.

I fully thank Lily, as I think she had something to do with kicking James in the pants whenever Sirius tried to turn his wand on me.

I never thought he was one to do things so awful to someone who didn't do anything except accept a date to Hogsmeade, but Mary wasn't surprised. She had told me time and time again that Sirius had two settings- hilarious and infuriated- and there was no in between. I was starting to imagine she was very right.

My date to Hogsmeade with Sebastian went very well, if you were wondering. He was a perfect gentleman, taking me all around the village and buying my dinner at the Three Broomsticks. He even bought me a new book from Tomes and Scrolls, which I had finished within a few days of our rendezvous and loaned to him to read as well. Ever since the date, I had found myself spending increasingly more time with Sebastian, much to the dismay of Sirius.

The more time I spent with Sebastian, the madder Sirius seemed to be with me. And the madder Sirius seemed to be with me, the more girls he made sure he was seen with. It was almost a new one every other day, which was a record, even for Sirius.

I managed to ignore Sirius's erratic behavior, even in the detentions we still had to share together. You couldn't even cut the tension with the steak knife, but luckily for me, Professor McGonagall continued to take our wands. I firmly believe that was the only reason Sirius didn't murder me in the Transfiguration professor's office.

It was the week of Valentine's Day when I finally had a day off from studying. Sebastian and I had finished our homework in the library just a few hours earlier and we were enjoying the, short-lived, warm weather that teased the school. Many other students were lazing out in the spring breeze, wanting to soak up as much sun as possible before the winter weather strolled through the mountains once again.

"I have a surprise for you," Sebastian smiled as he took my hand, rubbing his thumb over my palm slowly. "Tonight, before dinner, meet me just outside the Great Hall."

I furrowed my brow, scanning his blue eyes with interest. "What is it?"

He smirked coyly, tapping my nose before straightening up and walking back up to the school. "You'll just have to see. Remember, just outside the Great Hall." I smiled and nodded my head, turning back toward the lake as he left.

It seemed the students weren't the only ones enjoying the small glimpse of spring, as the Giant Squid had come up to the surface and was lazily poking its tentacles out of the water, laying them across large rocks that were warm from the sun. I took a deep breath in, letting the mossy scents of the forest envelope me momentarily. I thought for a moment how Sirius and I spent our breaks during the fall near the lake, trying to come up with scenarios to get myself checked off.

I sighed, leaning back against the trunk of a small tree.

"Haley!"

I jumped up, craning my head over my shoulder to see who was calling me. Mary and Alice made their way down the front lawn, slipping and sliding over the wet grass and mud that was a product of the melting snow. I laughed at the look of terror on Mary's face as she slid a few feet down the grassy hill. Alice easily caught her under the arm, laughing at our best friend again.

"I heard about your date tonight," Alice said as she made her way down to me, sidling down the trunk of the tree. "It's going to be perfect, Haley, you should be excited."

I scrunched my nose at her, shaking my head slowly. "It's not a date! Sebastian and I are just-"

"Don't say friends," Mary interjected, taking a seat on a flat rock that was stuck in the ground just across from the small tree. "You two are not just friends. You've been exclusively seeing each other since that Hogsmeade trip. I mean, he's basically your-"

"Don't say boyfriend!" I mimicked her, giggling slightly as I pulled at the grass next to me, ripping it from the ground before tossing it into Alice's lap. "Sebastian isn't my boyfriend. Besides, I don't even know if I want a boyfriend."

"That's not what you were saying when you and Sirius-"

Alice slid down, aiming a kick at Mary's shins, who instantly cut herself off by slapping a hand over her mouth. I sighed, letting my head fall back against the tree trunk. Sirius had made sure to flaunt girls in front of me the last few weeks. If it was a Gryffindor girl, he canoodled with her in front of the fireplace in the common room. If she was in a different house, which she was most of the time, he would drag her to the Gryffindor table, making sure she sat directly in front of me.

And there wasn't much I could do about it, since I usually sat with Lily, Alice, and Mary, who in turn sat with the Marauders because of Lily and James's recent connections. The past few days, however, I had decided to sit more often than not with Sebastian at the Ravenclaw table. My brother would heckle me through most of the meal, but Sebastian and I learned to ignore it, instead talking about classic novels, homework assignments, and future plans after graduating from Hogwarts.

He fully supported my decision to go to France to study law and I learned from him that he was interested in working in different Ministry's of Magic as an ambassador to the Minister himself. I was incredibly impressed, as those jobs were very far and few between, but Sebastian was eloquent and well-mannered, not to mention soft spoken and incredibly smart, so I was sure that he would do very well in that setting.

He was everything I had wanted in a man, everything I had wanted since I was a little girl. I couldn't help, however, but wander my eyes over to Sirius every once and awhile, only to see him staring at me with a black expression. I always snapped my gaze back to Sebastian, throwing myself into the conversation with more gusto than I had started with.

"What do you mean you don't want a boyfriend?" Alice went on, sending a glare toward Mary for her slip up. My two best friends had tried to avoid saying the S-word around me since our blowout at Lily's birthday party. So far, no good.

I sighed, picking up another handful of grass and tossing it toward Alice. She laughed, swatting them away easily. "I mean, I don't know if I want a boyfriend right now. School is ending in a couple of months, not to mention that I've never actually HAD a boyfriend. What do you do with it? Kiss it than leave it in the corner? How often do you have to feed it or walk it?"

Alice and Mary busted out laughing, clutching at their stomachs as they rolled in the wet grass. Mary finally managed to get a hold of herself before Alice did. She sat up, brushing the tears of joy from her eyes. "Having a boyfriend isn't like having a dog, Haley. Let's have an honest conversation here, one that you haven't been a part of since first year." She glanced at Alice, who seemed to know where she was going with this. "What exactly is your type of man? Honestly."

I blushed a deep shade of red, shaking my head quickly before putting my face in my hands. "Ugh, you two are so embarrassing."

Alice grinned. "We aren't asking you to share your sexual fantasies, Haley. Just what do you see in a guy? It's an easy question."

I sighed, staring at the grass in thought. "Well, I always thought of myself being with someone who was family oriented and loyal. Someone who had their future planned out and was ready to face it. Someone who could support me, but not try and control me. Someone who-"

"Okay, Haley, stop right there." Alice turned to glance at Mary. "Maybe we should get her a dog. She really seems to just want a dog."

I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, unsure of what to say. "I-I don't want a dog!"

Mary and Alice nodded their heads, looks of certainty on their faces. "Loyalty? Family Oriented? Supportive?" Mary questioned, her eyes strained against the sunny skies. "You definitely want a dog."

Alice raised her hands to the sky, majestically waved them around as she tried to prove her point. "What about love and happiness and-"

"Those things won't get me a steady or secure future," I cut Alice off. She dropped her hands to her sides, letting them fall with a loud thump into the grass beneath her.

"Steady and secure sounds like a dull and boring life to me," Alice said, scrunching her nose and shaking her head. "Besides, considering you and Sebastian have been pretty exclusive the past couple weeks, what you want in a man should be something to think about."

"OI! MACDONALD!"

Mary whipped around, narrowing her eyes toward the source of the yelling. James was waving erratically at her, both of their broomsticks clutched tightly in his left hand. The rest of the team watched him warily, except Sirius who pulled off looking bored quite easily. He snapped his eyes up to meet mine, but quickly dropped them again before sighing and looking off to the side. I followed his gaze, spotting Severus Snape studying at the base of another tree.

I watched as a small smirk appeared on Sirius's face. He peeled away from the group, going over to taunt Severus, no doubt.

"Now where the hell," James said in frustration before shaking his head and turning back to Mary. "Oi, it's nice outside for the first time in three months. Time to go claim the pitch before the Slytherins do."

"Come on, James," Mary moaned, "You've had us running plays in the corridors after hours for weeks now. Let us have a break."

James rapidly shook his head, looking incredibly scandalized at the mere thought. "This is our last year, MacDonald." He punched the palm of his hand after each sentence to make a point. "Last year to beat the Slytherins, last year to win the House cup, last year to- oi, Padfoot, put him down mate."

I looked over to Sirius once again, who had decided to hang Severus from the branch of the nearest tree by a belt loop at the back of his pants. The quidditch team roared with laughter, which would usually only egg on the behavior from Sirius, but it seemed that James meant business. James always meant business when it came to quidditch.

Sirius shrugged, letting him down roughly with a twitch of his wand. Severus crashed to the ground, landing loudly in a mud puddle at the base of the tree. "Right where you belong," I heard Sirius say to Snape before sauntering back toward the team, not bothering to look behind him.

"Sirius! Watch out!" I yelled, mostly out of habit once I saw Severus pull his wand out from inside his robes. Sirius glanced at me for a split second before spinning around, his wand drawn as he bore down on Snape. Streams of colored bubbles streamed out of the greasy headed boy's mouth every time he opened it. Severus, upon realizing that it was quite difficult to cast a basic spell without the use of his voice, quickly packed his things and stormed off, sending nasty glares toward Sirius and James over his shoulder.

"Good one, Padfoot," James said as Sirius joined his side, looking bored once again. James turned back to Mary. "So are you coming or what?"

Mary rolled her eyes, nodding her head as she pushed herself off the ground and straightened up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Keep your Hippogriffs in a line, why don't ya?"

"Thatta girl." James shoved her playfully in the shoulder as the team turned to go, including Sirius, who didn't even bother to say anything to me as he followed James to the Quidditch pitch.

….

"And then he just walked off, like it was no big deal," I laughed as I followed Sebastian away from the Great Hall later that evening. I let my hands fall dramatically to my sides, slapping my thighs as if they were making statements of their own. "I only saved his life, it's not like I did anything that deemed a thank you or even an acknowledgement."

Sebastian shoved his hands into his pockets, shrugging his shoulders. "That's dumb, isn't it? I would have said thank you to you if someone was trying to kill me."

I sent him a small smile. He really was the nicest guy. "So where are you taking me? You never mentioned it."

We stopped just outside the familiar painting of the fruit and I felt a pang of emotion from deep in my gut. "The kitchen? Why the kitchen?"

"Just wait and see," he said with a wide grin, his dimples becoming prominent within his cheeks. He reached up and tickled the pear, which giggled and immediately turned into the door handle that I was all too familiar with. I didn't mention it to Sebastian, but the last time I was there was with Sirius. And Sirius did the sweetest thing that anyone has ever done for me. It was really that experience that set off the chain reaction of crazy stunts that we had pulled over the last few months.

I felt another pang of longing in my gut.

"Haley? Haley, are you okay?"

I shook myself from my inner thoughts, shifting my attention back to him. He was looking at my funnily, a worried expression on his face. "Huh?"

He gestured toward the kitchen, by this point he had the door held wide open for me. I peeked inside, astounded by what I saw.

Sebastian really went all out for the holiday. A table for two was nestled in the corner, candles hovering just above eye level. Red and pink confetti was scattered haphazardly along the table and onto the stone floor. It was already set with beautiful china and two goblets of butterbeer were positioned just in front of each seat.

He put his hand on the small of my back as he led me inside, my jaw still dropped in wonder and shock at the scene before me.

"Sebastian- this-" Was all I managed to say. He nervously pulled out the chair and helped me sit down, pushing it in gracefully. He took the seat opposite mine just in time for a House Elf to wobble over, carrying two heavy plates of food.

"Mipsy will be your House Elf, sir," she squeaked out after setting the plates of food in front of us. She bowed low enough so the tips of her ears touched the floor. "Mipsy will be here if you needs anything, sir."

Sebastian smiled and thanked the House Elf before turning his attention back to me. He grabbed a hold of his goblet of butterbeer, lifting it toward me as a toast. I quickly grasped mine, managing to not let it fall out between my sweaty fingers. Why was I so nervous for this? "To us," he said, clinking his goblet with mine. I sent him a nod in agreement before taking a heavy chug of the butterbeer. I was going to need a lot more of this to get through the dinner.

Which was delicious, of course. Grilled steak, baked potatoes, and steamed vegetables were the main course, followed by a large amount of pudding. As the night wore on, my nervousness slowly wore off, but I still had an itch at the back of my mind that I couldn't manage to scratch no matter how hard I tried. Sebastian was more than a gentleman, always asking questions about my studies, my future, how my family was doing. He never once mentioned Sirius, which I was thankful for. He kept the conversation rolling, which gave me quite a headache to be honest. I didn't mind the comfortable quiet that Sirius could provide-

Okay, not thinking about Sirius. NOT thinking about Sirius.

As our dinner ended and curfew drew closer, Sebastian shot up from his seat and came around the table to assist me out of mine. After thanking the house elves profusely for their service, he guided me out of the kitchens and toward the Gryffindor common room.

My heart beat quickened as we made our way through the dimly lit corridors, managing not to find anyone on our trek back. With each step, my nervousness rose up again, but it wasn't the nervousness that I was used to around Sirius. It was an anxious nervous, like I knew I shouldn't have been there. I shook the thought out of my head.

We stopped just outside the common room, pausing with uncertainty. Sebastian turned to face me, leaning forward slightly to grab a hold of my hands. Thank Merlin I had wiped my palms on the sides of my jeans only moments before.

"I had a really nice time tonight, Haley," he said with a small smile though his face was turning a dull shade of pink.

"I did too, Sebastian, thank you. That was probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." And it was the truth. I thought it topped Sirius's kitchen rendezvous with flying colors. Though, if Sirius and I ever became friends again, I wouldn't mention that to him.

We paused again, awkwardly looking at each other. He took a step closer to me, holding my hands tighter. I could feel his palms become slightly moist too. Clearly he was just as nervous as I was. He slowly leaned down toward me. What was he doing? Why is he coming closer? Oh Merlin, oh Merlin, oh Merlin.

Before I could even think his lips had slowly come into contact with mine. The kiss was filled with hesitation. Much to my disappointment, the butterflies that I had expected to explode in my stomach never came. I felt…neutral about the kiss. Like it was something common that happened every day.

Wasn't I supposed to fall madly and deeply in love with Sebastian? He was incredibly nice and good looking. He had his future planned out. He would definitely be approved by my mother and father. He had every redeeming quality that I had put on my own personal check list. Why wasn't this happening?

_Because you're already in love with Sirius Black._

I wasn't in love with Sirius Black. Sure, the kiss we had shared was…heated and passionate. It was filled with longing and want. But, Sirius was just a more experienced kisser than Sebastian, at least as far as I knew. The butterflies that had exploded in my stomach when Sirius kissed me were just because it was my first kiss, right? I couldn't be in love with Sirius Black.

As Sebastian pulled away, I brought a tight smile onto my face. I tried to make sure it wasn't a grimace, though it seemed to have worked, because Sebastian returned it with a bright, dimple-filled grin. "See you tomorrow, then?" he ended quite lamely, letting go of my hands to shove his into his pockets. I shrugged with a slight nod. He turned to walk away, glancing only once more over his shoulder before rounding the corner and disappearing from view.

I took that as an opportunity to debrief myself before going into the common room. I sighed deeply, resting my hands on my knees as I bent over. I needed to figure this out. I needed to FORCE myself to like Sebastian. Yeah, that's what I would do. I would-

"OI! BRAMS!"

My heart shot into my throat as I whipped around, not having heard that voice call my name for quite some time now. Though the tone wasn't what I expected. Sirius was storming angrily toward me through the corridor, James trailing behind him with wide eyes.

"Sirius? Wh-" I started, but he cut me off immediately.

"Going around snogging other guys now, eh Brams?"

I furrowed my brow as I looked up at him, not understanding why he was so angry. Then a thought occurred to me. "Sebastian left less than a minute ago. How did you know he kissed me?" I paused, glaring up at him. "There is no way you were in this hallway, I would have seen you!" I shifted my gaze over to James, who only had an empty piece of parchment in one hand and a raggedy looking cloak in the other. I turned my attention back to Sirius, who was sending waves of anger and loathing toward me.

He didn't bother to address my questions.

"Since you seemed so keen on getting this signed when I kissed you-" He paused long enough to pull out a piece of parchment, scribbling something down onto it. I thought he was going to rip through the paper with how much force he was putting on it.

"Hey!" I yelled out when I realized what it was. "You shouldn't have that." I lunged forward to grab it from him, but he merely took a step back, taunting me by holding it above my head. "Sirius, give it back. That's mine."

His gray eyes, which were usually swimming with happiness and laughter, were shielded over with a calculated callousness. "Fine, I'll give it back." He threw it at me much like you would throw a frisbee. It whizzed through the air before slamming me in the cheek, creating a small paper cut just under my eye. I managed to catch it clumsily before it hit the stone floor.

"Come on, mate," James started, but it quickly shut his mouth after the cold look Sirius threw back at him. James only sent me an apologetic look with a small shake of his head.

I glanced down at the list for a moment, realizing that he had signed off on one number in particular. Number 30- kiss a boy and have a boy kiss me back. I snapped my eyes back up to meet his, tears gathering just under my lids. A golf ball sized bump lodged into my throat, making it difficult for me to say anything. I managed to squeeze out a rather stuttered, "That's just plain mean, Sirius Black."

He shrugged casually, not once removing his relentless glare from my face. "At least you got your damn wish." With that, he shoved past me and entered the common room, leaving me and James in the corridor alone.


	24. Chapter 24

**Ahhh, you my lovely readers, are wayyy too good to me! Thank you so much for all the wonderful words of encouragement and the thoughts for my boyfriend's health. It was truly appreciated and I really thank you for it!**

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"I just don't get it," I hissed to Remus as I added a dash of fairy wing into my cauldron. It sizzled menacingly before turning a bright shade of purple. We had been working on a Calming Draught for the past couple lessons and, since Sirius Black's blowout three days prior, I had been having a hard time paying attention. "He wasn't even in the corridor at the time-"

Remus shifted in his seat, catching my eye. He sent me a guilty grimace as he continued to stir his own potion in a clockwise direction. 105 times, to be exact. I narrowed my eyes at him. "What do you know?"

"I don't know anything," he said quickly and quietly, snapping his gaze quickly back to his cauldron. It was the best looking one in the class apart from Lily's, naturally.

"Remus."

He sighed, finishing up the stirs before setting down the wooden spoon next to the cauldron. He drew out his wand, prodding at the fire underneath to turn up the heat. Let the draught brew for another 20 minutes before adding the fairy wing. He was only a couple steps behind me. "You're not going to believe me."

"Try me," I muttered, pouring in a pint of honey water.

"James has an invisibility cloak and we made a map of the school in our fifth year that shows every person in the castle and where they are at all times."

I stared at him for a moment. "You're right, I don't believe you."

Remus grinned, leaning back in his seat to reach down to his book bag. He straightened back up, handing me an old, beaten up piece of parchment. I gave him a strange look as he handed it to me. I held onto the parchment for a moment, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

He glanced around the room, making sure no one was watching us. James was busily working on his potion, while Sirius seemed to be in the stages of letting it brew. He had his feet kicked up on the table he shared with James and was seemingly calculating a way to curse Severus from across the room without being caught.

Alice and Mary sat directly in front of us, flipping through a magazine filled with dress robes and current dress styles. Lily sat diagonal from my two best friends, sharing her desk with Dorcas Meadows, who was busy stirring her own draught. I looked back to Remus, who had placed his wand on the parchment.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he muttered. I watched the parchment for a moment, thoroughly unimpressed before something I hadn't expected happened. Ink spread over the parchment, curling over it delicately like lace.

_Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs  
Purveyors of aides to Magical Mischief Makers are proud to present  
THE MARAUDERS MAP_

I slowly opened up the parchment, my lips parted in amazement. I scanned over the map, my eyes widening in bewilderment. Seated in the Potion's dungeon, in the exact seats they were sitting in, were all 15 students. I saw Peter Pettigrew in Divination in the North tower, Hagrid was doing something in his garden just outside of his hut, Professor Dumbledore was pacing his office, leaving small footprints across the minute area of the map.

"This- you were not kidding," I stuttered out, shaking my head slowly. On the map I saw the two secret passageways that James and Sirius had introduced me to- the one behind the witch's hump and the one that was hidden underneath the Whomping Willow. Both passageways trailed off, eventually ending as it didn't appear on the map, but I knew, to Hogsmeade. "Did you make this?"

Remus nodded his head, placing his hand on the map and pushing it underneath the desk, as Professor Slughorn was starting to make his way down the row toward our table. I hid the map on my lap, pulling out my wand and pretending to prod the fire underneath my cauldron. In actuality, I had finished my draught already, but I didn't want the professor to make me start another potion. I watched from the corner of my eye as he passed by, pulling the map back onto the table.

"It took awhile, we had to map out the castle. This is how we've been getting in and out of the common room at night without being caught. Well, that and James's cloak."

I continued to stare at the map, slowly making my eyes over the castle. I stifled a laugh as I saw a couple's footsteps oddly close together near the back of the library, clearly skipping class. I stopped scanning the map for a moment, moving my gaze back toward Remus. The thought finally occurred to me….a map showing the location of every person in the castle, a supposed invisibility cloak.

I narrowed my eyes up to Remus, who shifted guiltily under my gaze. "They were spying on me, weren't they?"

He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. "Those two-" I stopped myself, swallowing the anger that had bubbled up inside me. "Those two were following me!" I swung around, glaring at James and Sirius with all the resentment I could muster. Sirius either didn't notice or was making a point to ignore me. James, on the other hand, spotted me from the corner of his eye. He furrowed his brow at me for a moment before grimacing as he caught site of the map in my hand. He had enough sense to look slightly put off before going back to his potion, making sure not to catch my eye again.

"Ten minutes left, ladies and gents!" Professor Slughorn chimed from the front of the room. I quickly reached my hand into my bag and pulled out three things- two small vials to hold my potion and the list that Sirius had thrown at me the night before.

"Watch and sign," I murmured to Remus, who had opened his mouth to protest, but had evidently thought against it. I filled the vials with my potion, being careful not to let it touch my bare skin before making my way through the maze of tables and book bags. I smirked slightly as I spotted Severus Snape's goblet of water, which he usually had sitting on his desk to sip on. I slowly made my way up to it and, just as he turned his head to talk to pull something out of his own book bag, I slipped the potion into his water and casually sauntered away.

As the only Slytherin in the NEWT potion's class, no one was there to stick up for him, but I was sure quite a few people saw me pour the potion into his water. No one bothered to say anything as I made my way up to the front of the glass, handing my second vial to Professor Slughorn. As I turned around to go back to my seat, Severus took a small sip.

He choked for a moment before dropping the goblet on the stone floor with a loud clang. He patted his cheeks, where bright purple pustules had started to bubble up on his skin. A few of the Gryffindors, James and Sirius leading the pack of course, had burst out laughing. Even Lily had to turn back to her cauldron to stifle a giggle.

"Oh dear," Slughorn said, tsk-ing under his breath as he shuffled through his desk drawer, pulling out a small vial of antidote that he kept on hand for occasions such as this. I guess if you worked with students as long as he had, you had a mind to keep those types of things close.

"Hmmm," I managed to say as sidled back to the table I shared with my fellow Gryffindor, watching Slughorn attend to Severus. I handed my list to Remus, who hesitantly scribbled his name. I don't think he would have signed it if it weren't for his two best friends who had made me so angry a few moments before. "Guess I inverted a couple of the ingredients. I don't think that was supposed to happen."

After dinner that evening, I slipped out of the common room, leaving Lily and Alice behind to work on their potion's essay. Luckily I had finished it a few days before. Mary, Sirius, and James were busy with quidditch practice, all of them wanting to take advantage of another nice night, so there was no way that the two head Marauders could follow me again.

I smiled slightly as I spotted Sebastian lurking near the base of the Grand Staircase. His eyes were glued onto me, but he wasn't looking the slightest bit happy to see me. I frowned, furrowing my brow as I made my way toward him. He gestured toward the large wooden doors that led to the front lawn, but still didn't bother to say anything.

I followed his lead, allowing him to escort me out of the castle and into the peaceful night. Birds chirped somewhere near the forest, the sound comforting to me. It was clear that spring was right around the corner.

Sebastian stopped in his tracks, settling down onto a stone bench that was grounded at the base of a small tree. I sat next to him, shivering slightly at the coolness of its touch.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," he started quietly, gently running his hand over mine. The shivers of joy that I thought would have accompanied the motion didn't come, sending pangs of disappointment through my spine.

What was wrong with me?

I didn't say anything, waiting for him to go on. He sighed, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. "I feel like you've been rather distant since our, well, since our kiss."

I looked away from him, training my eyes on the dewy grass beneath my sneakers. I kicked at a loose pile of dirt, soiling the tip of the toe. I wasn't so much…avoiding Sebastian. I wasn't trying to be distant with him either.

The whole situation was so awkward, so out of the norm, that I wasn't sure how to respond to it. Were my feelings for him supposed to grow over time? I had always imagined the instant spark of attraction, the immediate shivers that ran up my back at his touch. They didn't come with him, but they ran rampant when Sirius was even in the vicinity. I shook my head quickly, trying to rid my thoughts of the shaggy haired boy.

"I don't know what you mean-" I began, but he quickly shook his head, cutting me off.

"You know what I mean, Haley. You've been doing homework on your own lately, refusing to sit with me at meals-"

"It's only been three days, Sebastian, you have to give me-"

"Time? You want me to give you time?" He shot up from his seat, pacing the ground in front of me. His movement was intensely rigid, though it sort of reminded me of Dumbledore's pacing on the Maruader's Map for some reason. I closed my mouth, letting him take control of the conversation. He ran his fingers through his hair, clearly agitated. "You know, I saw what you did to Severus today. You could have killed him-"

"But I didn't-"

"But you could have," he rounded on me, dramatically letting his arms fan out to his sides. "You could have messed up that potion so bad that Professor Slughorn wouldn't have been able to fix Severus. And for what? For a bet?"

I hadn't mentioned the list to Sebastian before, though a bet was a fair way of putting it. I kept my mouth closed and my eyes trained on the ground.

"That was incredibly immature, Haley. I thought you were better than that-"

Something inside me stirred. I couldn't help, but feel a twinge of anger towards him. He didn't have any right to tell me I was immature or that he thought I was better than that. In fact, he didn't really know me all that well to begin with. Sure, we did homework together, we ate meals together, but we didn't talk about much besides homework and life after Hogwarts. He didn't know anything about my family nor did I know anything about his.

And, to be honest, the majority of the time I was either looking at Sirius or thinking about Sirius. Even after the kiss with Sebastian, I was comparing it to the kiss I shared with Sirius. Was that really fair to him to begin with?

"-Distracted so much these days," Sebastian was going on as I tuned back into his lecture. And it was just that, I realized, another lecture. Another lecture just like the one my father had given me the day I had come home from Sirius's apartment during the Christmas holiday.

I didn't WANT another lecture. I didn't WANT a boyfriend who spoke to me like my father spoke to me. I wasn't sure I wanted a boyfriend at all by that point, as they seemed to bring about more trouble than they were worth, but I certainly didn't want another Ralph Brams in my life.

"-Think it's because of Sirius Black."

With that damned name being brought back into conversation, I quickly raised my head. "Huh?"

He sat down next to me, taking my hands into his. I furrowed my brow, completely thrown by the newfound comforting gesture. Just a moment ago he was disappointed in my behavior, now he was going to try and reason it out of me. Just like my father. "Just tell me the truth," he said, trying to catch my eye as he held tightly onto my hands, "You're in love with Sirius Black, aren't you?"

"What?" I said, pulling my hand quickly from his grasp. "I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Yes, you do, Haley," he said quietly, letting his chin drop to his chest. I felt a stitch of sorrow rush through my veins. I didn't mean to hurt him, I didn't mean to make him so upset. "I can see it in your eyes when you look at him. And you look at him more often than you think you do."

I dragged my gaze away from him, squinting toward the quidditch pitch. I could barely make out the figures in the darkening background. They resembled nothing more than gnats from this distance, but I could feel my heart beat heavily against my chest as I thought of Sirius on his broomstick. Sirius with the wind whipping his hair around, a wide, joyous smile on his face. How his gray eyes were wild with excitement and how they penetrated deep into my soul, pulling out pieces of me that I didn't even know existed.

Alice and Lily said it, now Sebastian was saying it. I was different around him; he made me different, but kept me unchanged all at the same time. It was a surreal feeling. It was…was it love? Was that was love was supposed to be?

Sebastian stood up once again, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Haley, I can't do this anymore."

I pinched my eyebrows together, lurching forward to pitch myself off the stone bench. "Are you really- are you breaking up with me?"

He gazed at me, his eyes glazed over with a pained look. "I think I am," he responded quietly, "because it isn't fair to you to be in a relationship with someone you don't love. And it isn't fair to me for you to expect me to put up with it."

I was baffled, unsure of what to say as he let out a long breath and turned away, timidly making his way back up to the castle. Part of me wanted to call him back, to kiss him on the lips and promise him that I wasn't in love with Sirius Black. That was the logical side of me, the side of me that was grateful for his lectures, for the time he spent doing homework with me, how he was everything I could have imagined in a future husband.

But the bigger part of me, the vast majority of me, realized that he was right. I had a taste of the kind of life Sirius Black could offer me- one filled with wild adventures and constant laughter. One filled with passion and enormous amounts of love. Sebastian couldn't give that to me, but there was one person who could.

I craved the relationship I had with Sirius. I needed it back, needed it back with every fiber of my mind, body, and soul. Because as much as I hated to admit it, Sebastian was right.

I was in love with Sirius Black.


	25. Chapter 25

**301 reviews?! You guys are amazing, I can't even believe it! Please, please continue to leave them, as I love to read everything you have to say about the story! Thank you SO much for the continued encouragement- it really means so much to me!**

**Many of you asked about my boyfriend. He is doing MUCH better. He had a bad bout of bronchitis, followed very closely by the stomach flu. It was a bad week, but he is back to normal (for the most part!)**

**No other news from me. Read and enjoy!**

_Haley Brams,_

_I would to thank you for submitting your application to the French Ministry of Magic's Council of Law in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. As you know, the application screening process is only a step in the direction of being admitted into the program._

_We would like to extend a warm congratulations and invite you to attend an interview with the Director of the Council of Magical Law. As we are aware you are still enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy until June of 1978, we have contacted your Headmaster and gained permission for your interview to be done during your Easter vacation. _

_Please come to the Ministry of Magic, Paris, France on March the 25__th__ at 2 in the afternoon. Attached is a map and directions to the Department. _

_Hope to see you on March the 25__th__ and, again, congratulations,  
Jacques DuChamps  
Director of Magical Law_

I placed my hand over my mouth, letting my cheeks blow out slowly. I did it, I actually did it. I managed to snag an interview, an interview for the best Council of Law program in the world. Not even half of the applying students get a nod for a follow-up interview. And I was one of them.

Mary stopped chatting with James, turning to look at me as she took a bite of her toast. "Haley? Everything okay?"

My friends had been on pins and needles around me lately, especially after hearing about my breakup with Sebastian. Though I didn't tell them the details, they were still expecting me to crumble to the floor at any moment in time. But, to be honest, I was feeling just fine. Classes were a tad awkward now, since Sebastian knew my deepest secret, but he wasn't one to spread rumors.

At least I hoped he wasn't.

"I got- I got an interview," I replied, disbelief riddling my tone. I turned to look at her, my eyes as wide as tea saucers, waving the piece of parchment at her. "I actually got an interview."

She snatched the parchment from my hand, hungrily scanning over the letter with gusto. She reemerged a moment later, a wide grin plastered on her face. "Haley! That is amazing, congratulations!"

"What's amazing, Haley?"

"Why are we congratulating?"

"Why am I always the last to know?"

Mary stood from her seat on the bench, holding the letter high into the air. "Haley Brams, one of my best friends, has received a letter." She paused dramatically, causing everyone to groan. "A letter that indicates a follow up interview for the Magical Law program in Paris, France. The best in the world."

She patted me on the top of the head before sitting down. As Alice and Lily were closest to me, they turned to congratulate me first. Alice threw her arms around my neck, pulling me tightly against her. My face turned a dull shade of red at all the attention, but my friends were not letting it down.

"You should be proud," Remus said, a smile on his scarred face, "that is quite an accomplishment."

I shrugged, standing from the table so I could swing my book bag over my shoulder. "It's just an interview, Remus, nothing to be excited about."

James shot up from his seat, throwing an arm casually over my shoulder as we made our way out of the Great Hall. "It's a step in the right direction, though! Stop putting down your accomplishments, we all can see how hard you've worked." He leaned down to plant a kiss on the top of my blonde head before peeling off, heading toward McGonagall's classroom with Sirius, who hadn't bothered to say anything, let alone look at me during breakfast.

I sighed, hitching my bag higher onto my shoulder. I felt an arm snake through mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw bright, red locks. I turned to glance at Lily, who was gazing down at me with a small smile on her face. The sun reflected beautifully across her bottle green eyes.

"He'll come around," she said simply. I nodded shortly, weaving my own arm through hers so we were hooked side-by-side. We quickly made our way down to the Transfiguration classroom on the other side of the castle.

As I entered the room, I nearly let out a groan of protest. Lily had taken an unexpected seat next to her boyfriend James, who usually sat with Sirius during classes. I glared at the redhead as she settled into her seat, sending me a sly grin. James looked nearly as surprised as I probably did.

There were only two seats left. And only two people left to come into class.

With that knowledge, I debated turning out of the classroom and immediately leaving, but Professor McGonagall marched into the room, her robes billowing out behind her. "Find your seats everyone, class is starting."

I hunched my shoulders, nearly dragging myself to the empty table near the front of the classroom. I dropped into the seat, silently taking out a piece of parchment, a quill, and my wand.

"Today we'll be learning about- Mr. Black, nice of you to join us. Please find your seat, as class has already begun."

I shut my eyes, letting out a slow breath. The silence Sirius emitted from scanning the classroom was painful, as it was clear that he was in disbelief that the only available seat was next to me. The leper. His leper.

"Sometime today, Mr. Black," McGonagall went on, pursing her lips into the tight, white line that I had learn to associate with James and Sirius, "unless you would like me to add yet another detention onto the list you have already made for yourself."

Sirius shrugged as he casually dropped into the seat next to me, moving the table with a slight squeak. "It wouldn't matter, professor. You and I both know I can't finish all those detentions by the end of the year anyways."

A few chuckles emanated from across the classroom. Professor McGonagall, who was not at all amused or impressed, said, "Another detention is in order, Sirius Black. Next time, maybe I'll just have Haley transfigure you into a grandfather clock. Then you'll know when to be on time."

More chuckles shot across the room, but neither Sirius nor I found anything funny about the professor's comeback. My face blushed to a dull red and, considering the situation between the two of us as of lately, I didn't bother looking to see what Sirius was doing.

I let out a breath as Sirius shuffled around his bag, tossing his wand and a roll of blank, crumpled up parchment on his side of the table. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him glance around for a moment before settling his firm gaze back onto me.

"Surprised you're not sitting with your _boyfriend,_" he muttered snidely, clearly reveling in the fact that this was the first time in a month he had gotten me somewhat alone. "I thought that's what boyfriends and girlfriends were supposed to-"

"We broke up, Sirius," I shot back in a mumble, fixing the black headband I wore to keep my blonde curls out of my face.

His jaw slacked in shock. It was evident that this was not the response he was expecting. "You and him br-"

But the rest of his sentence was cut off by Professor McGonagall, who had started class at that exact moment. I never thought I wanted to kiss that teacher more in my six (almost seven) years of school. That includes when she gave me an O for an essay that really deserved an E, but who's honestly keeping track?

I spent the rest of the day awkwardly shuffling around Sirius and Sebastian, avoiding them both during the next two classes, lunch, another class, my afternoon break, and a final class that, thank Merlin, didn't feature either of them in it.

I dropped my book bag off in my dorm after my last class of the day, Ancient Runes. Remus and I made our way down to the Great Hall, skirting the corridors quickly and quietly since the Slytherin's were poised for an attack.

My guess was on the Gryffindor quidditch team, but I certainly didn't want to press my luck.

"I'm surprised you haven't had the time to skim Tomes and Scrolls," Remus said, continuing our chat about classic Wizard novels as he held open the tapestry, allowing me to jump through it. "With how often I see you curled in front of the fireplace, I just assumed that was the first place you went every Hogsmeade trip."

I laughed as we trekked down the Main Staircase. I let the palm of my hand brush over the smooth marble of the banister. "Well, usually I go to Hogsmeade trips with Alice and Mary, who are both very far from wanting to visit a book shop while we're there." I paused, sighing quietly. "And the last time I was there I was with…" I awkwardly trailed off with a slight shrug. "Anyways, I just haven't had the chance to go back since."

Remus thrust his hands into his pockets, casually glancing down at me with a small smile. "Next Hogsmeade trip, I'll take you to get a book. Merlin knows that you need to stop borrowing mine and get some of your own." He playfully tapped my shoulder with his elbow and I grinned up at him.

"That would be lovely, Remus, thank you."

We entered the Great Hall, scanning the table for our group of friends. I hung back as Remus leapt onto the bench, nearly shoveling half a chicken and a bowl full of mashed potatoes into his mouth as he did so. I raised my eyebrows, slightly impressed.

Must be the wolf in him.

Alice waved me over, signaling that she had saved me a seat, but I shook my head, my eyes wide with concern. I'm not sure whether she did it on purpose or unintentionally, but she had saved me a seat next to Sirius. She glanced to her left before turning her gaze back toward me, she rolled her eyes, pointing intensely at the seat next to her.

I grabbed a roll from the end of the table, tossing it in the air for a moment before catching it with both hands. "I'm just going to go. Detention in a few, you know?"

She glared at me with disbelief. "By a few, you do realize you mean 20 minutes right?" she shouted over the top of a group of first years. They turned to stare up at her, clearly thinking for a moment or two that it was them she was screeching at. I tried hard not to hide a smile. "Come have some dinner. Merlin knows you knew to put some meat on those bones anyways."

"I just don't want to be late," I said as I turned from the Great Hall, ignoring the calls of my friend's who were all trying to lure me back toward the table. I merely threw a wave over my shoulder, glad that I could avoid Black one more time before detention.

Unfortunately, things don't go as I plan as often as I hope they do.

"Oi! Brams!"

I froze mid-step, turning slowly to see the one person that I had wanted to talk to for the past month. Only now, the desperate feeling of needing his attention wasn't there. It was replaced with anger. A rushing anger that I couldn't quite explain or identify. I cocked an eyebrow, disregarding my heart, which was pounding magnificently against my ribcage.

"Brams, I haven't gotten to talk to you much lately. I-"

With that one sentence out of his mouth, I spun on my heel and marched toward Professor McGonagall's office. I couldn't believe- I just couldn't believe that Black had the nerve to say something like that.

_I haven't gotten to talk to you much lately._ I mimicked him cruelly in my head, continuing my half-jog toward the professor's office, fully intending to not talk to him for the rest of the school year. I would finish out this year, move to France, and never look back.

Maybe I would find a nice Parisian boy who would hand-feed me croissants during a candlelit dinner on top of the Eiffel Tower. Yeah, that's the right idea.

"Brams, what-?"

I twisted around to glare up at him. He stumbled over me due to my immediate stop, clutching onto my shoulders to catch his balance. I quickly writhed out of his grasp, not wanting to give myself even one second of wanting this boy back. "What do you want, Black?"

He was clearly taken back by my hostility. He smartly kept quiet for a moment, thinking long and hard about the next words that came out of his mouth. "When you told me that you and Brees broke up, I just thought-"

"You just thought what, Sirius?" I asked tiredly, cutting him off as I put a hand up to rub my temple. "Thought that I wanted to chat with you about it? Braid your hair while we sing campfire songs out by Hagrid's cabin?" I paused, taking a step toward him. "I don't want to talk to you."

Sirius furrowed his brow, glancing up at the ceiling in thought. "You don't want to talk to me in general or you don't want to talk to me about the break up? Because, honestly, I've had so many break ups, I probably would be at least a little help to-"

"I don't want to talk to you at all." I paused. "Ever again." I paused again. "About any topic of conversation that has or could possibly come up between now or graduation." I paused again, letting that information sink in.

"Don't you think you're being a little dramatic about the whole thing?"

I almost screeched in frustration, but managed to let it out with a mere strong exhalation through my nostrils. "No, Sirius, I'm not being dramatic," I responded through gritted teeth, keeping as calm as I possibly could. "I went on a date with Sebastian-"

"Oh, here we go."

"And you stalked me using a map and an invisibility cloak-"

"That's a bit of a-"

"Then you watched me kiss him-"

"That really wasn't enjoyable, I promise you that."

"Then you stormed over and threw the signed list at me," I finally finished, planting my hands on my hips as I looked up at him. "That was truly uncalled for." I started walking down the corridor once again.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, following me through the dimly lit hallway. "I was just having a bit of fun. Lighten up, will you?"

"You weren't having a bit of fun, Black," I shot back, finally losing my temper. "You were being mean. You were being mean and cruel and you really hurt my feelings." I crossed my arms over my chest, continuing on with my rant without looking at him, as I was afraid the waterworks of tears would flood out immediately if I did. "I thought you were my good friend, Sirius. I trusted your judgment." I paused taking a deep breath in. "I was only doing what you wanted, anyways. You wanted me to move on, so I moved on, nothing more to it."

Sirius groaned, running his hands over his face. "I never said that."

I stopped right outside Professor McGonagall's office, my hand mid-air as I reached toward the doorknob. "What did you say?"

"I never said I wanted you to move on."

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, in utter disbelief. "You said-"

"That we weren't compatible," he interrupted me, snaking his hand through his thick, black hair. "That we shouldn't be together, because we're going to be living two different lives. But I never said you should get over me. And I certainly haven't gotten over you."

My heart skipped a beat, but I wasn't going for it. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… "You're basically saying the same thing, Sirius. You don't want me to get over you, but you don't want a relationship with me?" I slapped my thighs in frustration. "Where does that leave me? Waiting for you while you make up your mind?" I quickly shook my head, leaning forward to open up the office door. "I'm not going to stick around, because you may have some distant feelings for me. I'm better than that and I deserve better than that."

I threw open the wooden door. "Annnnd she's sleeping," I added in, shaking my head slowly. "Great, just great."

Indeed, Professor McGonagall must have had a rough day. She was asleep at her desk, her usually well-kept bun was slowly drifting to one side of her head. It gave her a haphazard appearance. I had never seen the professor look so…uneasy.

"It's probably the war," Sirius interjected into my thoughts, glancing down at me. I could feel my cheeks heat up dully, his gray eyes always making me melt from the inside out. "I read in the paper today that two muggle families were killed. The kids attacked by werewolves while their parents were forced to watch. The Death Eaters killed the parents…eventually."

"That's awful," I whispered, my jaw slacking from the news.

"Its war," he said simply, leaning against the doorframe.

"Should we wake her up?"

Sirius shook his head, leaning forward to quietly shut the wooden door. His fingertips grazed the back of my hand momentarily, sending jolts of shock up through my arm and to my spine. I could still feel where he barely touched my hand, even though he had removed his fingers already. "No, she doesn't wake me up when I fall asleep in class. I'll just return the favor."

I smiled for a second before realizing that I was indeed supposed to be mad at him. I covered up my smile by clearing my throat, taking a few steps away from the boy to put some distance between us.

"Haley-" he said softly, but I merely shook my head and walked away.

I hoped that, for once in his short eighteen years on this planet, he got the message.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello everyone! So sorry about the delay. Thank you SO, SO much for all of the reviews and feedback for this series. As always, I absolutely LOVE reading all of it, so please make sure to leave more. I really appreciate it.**

**Really quick: a few people had asked me to put up a schedule for when I'll be posting. So…that's what I'm going to do! At least…try to. School is back in session for me (and it's really kicking me in the butt!), so for now until the first week of May, I'll be posting one chapter every Monday. I promise you that I'm not giving up on this story, as I still absolutely LOVE writing it, so that's what I'm going to try to do for you. Once summer is here, I'll be able to post A LOT more often. And, of course, if I'm able to post more than one chapter in a week, then I will be doing that. You can guarantee that I'll have one chapter out every Monday though!**

**As always, read and enjoy!**

I fixed my gaze on the sobbing girl who had passed me running from the Great Hall. Her red and blotchy, tear stained face said it all.

"Hmmm," Mary said with an air of casualness, shrugging as we continued down the Grand Staircase, "If that is who I think it was, Sirius must have broken up with her."

She took the words right out of my mouth, but it was probably be the truth. Unfortunately, Sirius caused just as many broken hearts as laughs these past few weeks. As we entered the Great Hall, my heart dropped when I saw him scanning the door, looking for someone. His eyes landed on me, a smile appearing on his face.

He didn't seem the least bit phased by the girl he sent bawling out of breakfast just a few moments before.

I took a seat next to James, who was reading over his Quidditch notes for what could have easily been the hundredth time. Lily sat next to him, supporting her boyfriend fully by wearing a jersey with POTTER- 7 stamped on the back of it.

"Quidditch today," Mary said as she took a seat across from me. She clapped her hands together, rubbing her palms as she eyed the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, who had been warily eyeing her since she entered the Great Hall. It was well known that Mary had no shame and frequently tossed a hex or two toward the opposing team. It seemed, however, that her confidence for this game overshadowed her love for competition, so she hadn't bothered. "You ready James?"

He mindlessly nodded, clearly not paying any attention to his fellow chaser. As Mary tried to capture him in conversation once again, Sirius turned to me from his seat next to Remus.

"How ya doing, Haley?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose with my pointer finger and thumb before reaching across the table to spoon some eggs onto my plate. I was planning on ignoring Sirius every day until the day I graduate.

"Are you ready for some Quidditch today?"

Why was he trying to be so nice? Why was he even bothering to talk to me? I continued to ignore him, grabbing a couple pieces of toast from in front of me. I spread some strawberry jam on one piece before taking a small bite.

"You can't ignore me forever, you know."

Oh yes, yes I could.

I took another bite of my toast, leaning my head toward James to try and join in his and Mary's conversation. I didn't understand one word of it, as they were discussing plays to try and win the game today, but it was better than having Sirius try and talk to me.

A few minutes later, James rolled up his notes and stuck them inside his robes. He stood from the table, spreading his arms out wide. "Fellow Hogwartians," he bellowed, his voice carrying easily across the stone-lined hall, "today is the day that we crush the badgers." Cheers erupted from Gryffindor and a few Ravenclaws, while playful boos mixed in from Hufflepuff. Many of the students had smiles on their faces. A few of the Slytherin students appeared excited, but it was really only the younger ones, as many of the older ones looked as though someone had stuffed a sour lemon into their mouth.

"Team, let's head out," James finished, gathering his broom from underneath the table and leading the march out of the hall. Sirius sent me a small smile and a wink before following his best friend, clapping him on the shoulder as they went.

"You know," Alice said, sliding toward me on the bench, "it really isn't a coincidence that Sirius broke up with his girlfriend the day after he finds out that you and Sebastian broke up." She paused knowingly, raising her eyebrows. "He's trying hard to talk to you again, maybe you should-"

"I don't want to talk to him, Alice," I sighed, spooning some egg into my mouth. I chewed for a moment before swallowing. "He was really, really mean those few weeks I was with Sebastian. He thinks it was all some sort of joke. But I'm not buying it. Not this time."

Alice nodded understandably before rising from her seat. "Well, that doesn't mean that you can't enjoy a good game of quidditch." She reached her hand down as a gesture. "Are you accompanying me today?"

I smiled, taking her hand and using it as a brace to stand from the table, abandoning the rest of my breakfast. "Are you coming Remus? Peter?"

The short, chunky boy stumbled out of his seat, nearly tripping in his effort to join us. Remus couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he rose calmly. "We'll sit with you today, Alice, just as long as you don't try to hex any Slytherins this time. McGonagall still thinks it was me, you know."

Alice smiled innocently as the four of us made our way out of the hall and onto the front lawn of the castle.

The weather was beautiful for being the beginning of March. The breeze quietly blew the smell of rain and freshly growing grass into the air. I breathed it in deeply, wallowing in the earthy scents. Even the sun was trying to make an appearance, despite the dark clouds that loomed above the snow capped mountains.

The only downfall for the upcoming spring was that the snow was beginning to melt. Cold, squishy mud littered the front lawn in large patches. We tried our best to avoid the patches, just as everyone in the school was trying to do. Unfortunately, luck was not in my favor and I ended up jumping straight into an ankle-deep puddle, splashing a few other people in the vicinity.

Alice let out a loud laugh as I squelched out of the puddle, taking my time. I groaned as I glanced down at my pants, which were clinging desperately to my calves and were covered in wet muck. Remus took out his wand and waved it slowly. Instantly my pants steamed dry and the dirt fell off in large clumps, leaving only a small amount that I was able to dust off in its wake.

I sent him a thankful look, but didn't say anything, as I knew it was in my favor to step in another pile on the way to the pitch.

Which I did, of course.

The stands were nearly packed by the time we reached our other housemates. It seemed that everyone wanted to see who was going to play Slytherin for the house cup, though I'm sure everyone knew who was going to win the game from the get-go.

It had been clear through speaking with James that they would have to lose by over 540 points to lose the spot in the championship match. I still kept my fingers crossed. Mary told me that the Hufflepuff team had become much better after adding on the newest member- a third year chaser who was geared toward playing professionally.

I settled into my seat, wrapping my jacket tightly across my torso. Despite the warmer weather near the castle, the wind seemed to whip around the pitch, creating harder flying conditions. At least I assumed they were harder flying conditions. I had a hard time flying in perfect flying conditions.

James took a step forward, his feet sinking into the soft, muddy ground, as he held out his hand and shook the captain of the Hufflepuff team's hand. The two boys grinned at each other, more up for friendly competition than a fight to the death. That match would probably take place between Gryffindor and Slytherin in just a few weeks time.

The whistle finally blew loudly, sending all fourteen players soaring into the spring air. I cheered loudly as James and Mary made a swoop above us, doing their traditional swoop around the pitch before the quaffle is thrown into the air.

"And they're off!" the announcer bellowed into the megaphone, his hand cupped around the metal stand that held the megaphone in place. "It's Potter with the quaffle, who drops it to MacDonald, who throws it to- OH! Intercepted in mid-air by Chandice, who is speeding toward the goals now."

I clapped loudly as Mary stopped Norma Chandice in her tracks, sending the quaffle spiraling toward the ground, where it was then caught by the third Gryffindor chaser, Malcolm Kirke, who had just joined the team this current season. Kirke sped off toward the Hufflepuff keeper, the quaffle tucked tightly under his arm, just like James had instructed him these past few months.

"AND GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"

The cheers erupted around me as Kirke and Potter high-fived before zooming off toward the opposite end of the pitch, waiting for Hufflepuff to retaliate.

The game wore on for another hour and a half; the clouds that loomed over the mountains finally made their way over to us, unleashing a lake's worth of water onto our heads just as the Gryffindor seeker snatched the small snitch in between his fingers. I burst out in applause, thanking Merlin that the match was finally over, as we were all drenched and cold to the bone.

My blonde curls hung loose and limp around my face. My jacket and thin t-shirt stuck to my torso and arms. I wrapped my arms around my chest, trying to conserve my body heat as everyone around me stood up, waiting to file out of the stadium. The Gryffindor team stood in the middle of the pitch celebrating their advance to the final match of the year.

I watched with raised eyebrows as Sirius peeled away from the group, hopping skillfully back onto his broom as he flew toward the announcer's booth, a smirk growing on his handsome features. He touched down right next to Professor McGonagall, who was eyeing him warily as he snatched the microphone from the fourth year announcer.

"I would just like to say," he began, his voice echoing over the crowd, who had all stopped in their tracks to see what Sirius Black was going to do this time, "I couldn't have helped in winning this game if it wasn't for my great friend, Haley Brams." He fixed his eyes onto mine, his smirk growing with every passing second. "Haley, you're the best and I love you." His gaze quickly dropped further south than I would have liked before he added on, "Are you cold, Haley?"

Professor McGonagall ripped the microphone from his hands as he, unabashedly, grinned at me from his perch on the edge of the stands. "Mr. Black, don't you-" McGonagall started to say, but her words were lost as Sirius jumped off the edge of the stands, soaring off on his broom as the other students cheered at his utmost lack of caring.

I shook my head, my cheeks burning with mortification, as he landed next to him, throwing his arm casually across my shoulders. His black hair hung lankily in his gray eyes. They were filled with the joy of winning his second to last quidditch match, filled with joy as he gazed down at me for the first time in a few months.

"Do you forgive me now?" he asked, just as soon as McGonagall announced over the megaphone that Sirius had to serve another detention (surprise, surprise) for endangering his life by jumping off the side of the stands.

I shrugged innocently as I peeled away from him, heading toward Alice and Remus as he stopped just outside the changing rooms for his team. "I don't know yet, Sirius, you'll just have to find out."

I slugged my way through the thick mud, heading back toward Remus and Peter, who were standing at the top of the hill with Alice and Lily, all of whom were smirking at me.

"So, talking to Sirius again are we?" Alice smiled as I reached her, bumping my side lightly with her elbow. I sent her a playful glance as I shrugged one shoulder.

I learned many things from Sirius Black this past year, most of them were not relevant to any form of reality after we leave school and I (hopefully!) start my career as a lawyer in France. One thing he did pound into my head, however, was that you don't just forgive someone. You get even.

And that's exactly what I planned on doing.

I turned to Remus, cocking my head to the side as I gazed up at him. "I have a potion for temporary hair loss and I KNOW that you know where Sirius Black keeps her shampoo." I raised my eyebrows. "Care to escort me to the men's bathroom?"

Remus offered me an elbow, which I took with a wide grin.

He brought me up the stairs, bypassing a group of second year boys who gave us both awkward looks as we slunk by them. As Remus pushed open the door to their shared room. I immediately scrunched my nose, as the smell emitting from the boy's things was so staggering that my eyes definitely watered and nearly crossed.

"Sirius's trunk is over in the corner. You can dig through to find his shampoo." He paused, turning to stand at the door, peeking out into the narrow stairway through the crack in the door. He glanced over his shoulder, shooing me back to the corner of them room. "Well, get going. They're going to be here soon looking to take a shower."

I hurried over to Sirius's corner of the room, throwing open his trunk with gusto. I rifled through the top layer of dirty clothes, wrinkling my nose as I used my pointer finger and thumb as pinchers to continue with my dig.

"Come on, Haley," Remus warned, turning over his shoulder to hiss at me, "They're back in the common room!"

I threw away my pride, stuffing my hand into the pile of junk that littered his luggage, not wanting to know what exactly my hand was touching at that moment in time. I pulled the bottle of shampoo out of his trunk, clumsily screwing open the bottle before dumping the potion into it.

"They're coming up here!"

I frantically closed the bottle, tossing it back into his trunk without bothering to cover it back up. I shuffled around the room, trying to find a way out, before Remus turned around completely and shooed me farther into the room.

"You can't go out there! They'll see you!"

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"I don't know, just find a spot!"

I high-tailed it back over to Sirius's corner of the room, throwing myself onto the floor just as the door clicked open. I rolled under the bed as I heard a set of footsteps enter the room, crossing over the wooden floor to grab their things.

"Remus? I thought you were going to the library before tonight?" I heard James ask before his trunk creaked open. From my position on the floor, I saw dirty and clean clothes alike drop onto the floor next to his bed.

"I-I am," Remus answered, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, "I just needed to come in here and grab my books, that's all."

"Why are you acting so funny, Moony?" Sirius said, bending down to pick up a pair of boxers off the floor. I held my breath, clapping my hands over my mouth as silently as I could as his head neared my hiding spot. I scooted over as much as I could, sucking in my stomach as his hand reached under the bed, pulling out a shirt that was perched half under the bed.

"-Not acting funny," he murmured back, scooping up his book bag and throwing it over his shoulder. "I'm going to the library, see you two later tonight."

"Seven o'clock at the Whomping Willow," James said, throwing his clean clothes over his shoulder as he held tightly onto his own shampoo and body wash bottles. "Don't be late. The full moon is supposed to be out early tonight."

I could almost feel Remus rolling his eyes as he left the room, leaving the door open for his two friends to follow behind him. I waited a few minutes after James and Sirius left the room, making sure that they weren't going to come back in unexpected.

I shimmied out from underneath the bed, creeping over to the door and peeking into the hallway before hustling down the stairs and throwing myself onto the common room couch.

Alice and Lily squealed at my entrance, not expecting my body weight in their laps so quickly.

"Where did you even come from?" Lily asked with a laugh, her eyebrows shooting toward the ceiling. "We were just in our room and you weren't-" She paused, stopping herself mid-sentence. "Did you reconcile with Sirius? Are you two together? Is it finally-"

I clapped a hand over her mouth, quieting her immediately. "We're going to find out in just a mom-"

As if on cue, two shouts echoed down from the boy's dormitory- one of laughter and another of pure shock. I could only imagine which one was which. Remus reentered the common room, just in time for Sirius to pound down the staircase, grasp onto the front of Remus's robes, and slam him against the nearest wall.

A few students stared, frightened, in the direction of the two boys while a few other girls whistled under their breath at the site of the shirtless Sirius, his jeans hanging baggy off his hips in a way that made my heart speed up quite quickly.

"What did you- what happened to my hair?"

Remus opened and closed his mouth a few times, all the while staring at me over the shoulder of his good friend. "A little help, Haley?"

Sirius released Remus immediately, turning to face me with an incredulous look on his face. As he looked at me, I couldn't help but snort in laughter. His black locks were completely gone, as were his eyebrows, eyelashes, and chin stubble that usually donned his face when he had forgotten to shave the day before.

"You think this is funny?" he asked, his voice rising slightly as he pointed at his head. "My hair is gone."

My shoulders shook with laughter as I bent down to clutch my knees, now unable to contain myself. "I…can't…believe…how dumb…you…look," I managed to sneak out between each hysterical breath. Sirius seemed to visibly relax as he watched my breakdown, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"You would be friends with a bald guy now would you?"

I straightened up, reaching my hand up to rub his smooth head. "I don't think so." I paused, watching his playful expression turn into one of shock. "Luckily for you, it's only temporary. All your hair will be back within the next ten minutes."

Sirius leaned down, pulling me into a tight hug. The heat rose into my cheeks as it was pressed against his bare stomach. He rested his chin on the top of my head as he rubbed my back with his hand. "I missed you Haley Brams."

I sighed softly, pulling myself closer to him. "I missed you, Sirius Black." I rested my chin on his chest, turning my head so I could look up at him. "But don't be such a jerk next time, okay? That was really hurtful."

He pulled me even closer, if possible, squeezing my body for a few seconds longer than what would constitute as a friendly hug. "I promise, never again." He paused. "Just as long as my hair grows back, okay?"

"OI! Black!"

I pushed myself away from Sirius, smiling slightly up at James, who had jogged down the stairs, his own black hair still dripping wet from his recent shower.

"Pads, we had to get down to the Great Hall. It's getting kind of late."

I glanced out of the common room window, surprised that the sun was already starting to set. We had missed dinner by a few minutes already. My stomach growled in response, clearly angry with me that I hadn't taken the time out to feed myself.

Sirius broke away from me, ruffling my hair as he reached toward James and grabbed the t-shirt his best friend was holding out for him. "I'll catch up with you later, okay?" he said to me, winking down in my direction as he began to follow James out of the common room. "We may be out late, so don't wait up."

I nodded, watching as the portrait hole shut behind them, my giddiness rising up in my chest, building to the point of almost exploding from every orifice of my body. I collapsed onto the couch once again, Lily and Alice grinning at me in response to the scene that just happened before them.

"Thank Merlin."

"Took long enough."

"Why couldn't you do that weeks ago?"

"The balding was funny though, I'll give you that. I'll sign you off on it."

Lily hopped up, holding her hands out in front of her as if gesturing for us to be quiet. "Wait! I have an idea. Since the boys are out for the night-" She paused, biting her lip. "Follow me."

"I don't like the sound of that," I responded as Mary took a hold of my arm and pulled me from the couch.

This is exactly how I ended up, bikini clad, and standing at the edge of the giant tub in the prefect's bathroom. The white tile was cool against my feet and I shivered slightly at the small breeze that emitted from the many faucets that were built into the edge of the tub. Alice, Mary, and Lily were already splashing around in the tub (or should I say swimming pool?), sending waves of water toward each other as they shrieked with laughter.

"Come on, Haley! Get in here!"

I crossed my arms self-consciously across my chest, shaking my head.

Alice cocked her head, shaking it enough so her wet, blonde hair stuck to the sides of her face and neck. "Get in here, Haley!"

I shivered at the edge of the tub, my toes curled over the tile. I bent my knees to jump in before chickening out once again, taking a step back with a shriek of giggling. "I can't do it! It's going to be cold when I get out!"

"If you don't jump in, I'm going to either push you in or pull you in," Mary warned as she splashed another wave toward Lily, who sputtered on the water, coughing slightly.

I groaned, bending my knees once again, but this time launching myself off the side of the tub and into the water, sending waves of water toward my three best friends. Lily and Alice swam over to me, dunking me under the water a few times playfully before letting me come up to the surface.

"I'm glad that you and Sirius made up though," Alice said, squeezing me around the shoulders. "It's only a matter of time before you two become official." She wagged her eyebrows suggestively, a wide grin on her face.

I couldn't help but let out a laugh at her ridiculousness. "I don't know about that, Alice, but I am glad that we are at least on speaking terms again, as I did miss him."

And it was the truth, but what they didn't realize was how much I missed him. When he hugged me in the common room, it was as if the last few months didn't happen. He was there with me, I was in his arms, and all was well with the world.


	27. Chapter 27

**Hello everyone! Here it is, as promised, chapter 27!**

**I decided to cut this one off and kind of make it a two-parter. It was going to be pretty long, awkwardly written, and I couldn't get it to flow right with it all in one chapter, so make sure to look out for chapter 28 sometime this week. I'm thinking I'll be posting it on Wednesday or Thursday, just to give you an idea.**

**The reviews have been amazing, so please keep them up!  
As always, read and enjoy!**

The day before we left for Easter vacation, Sirius and Lily collaborated to throw James and Remus a low key birthday party. And, believe it or not, it WAS actually low key. Since both of the boys were turning 18 within a couple weeks of each other, Sirius thought it would be a good idea to just jam them together and get the whole thing over with.

Maybe he was growing up. Just a little bit.

Despite it being a small affair, Sirius still insisted on sneaking out of the castle to pick up some firewhiskey and butterbeer from their favorite barmaid, Rosmerta. She was really too good to them, letting them sneak drinks back into the castle without telling a soul.

Though, if I were her, I probably wouldn't tell anyone either. Sirius had a nasty habit of jinxing whoever made him mad at that moment, no matter how much he liked them or not. Luckily, I hadn't been on the receiving end of one of these jinxes quite yet, but I figured it was only a matter of time.

"You know," Sirius said with a smirk, ducking to avoid smacking his head on the ceiling of the low tunnel that led back from Honeyduke's, "the last time you snuck out of the castle, you nearly got me expelled. I'm not sure what I was thinking bringing you along anyways."

I rolled my eyes, stepping over a tree root that protruded from the ground, sticking through the stone floor that was haphazardly cracked and misshapen from all the years the tree roots had continued to grow. "Oh, hardy har har, Sirius Black."

I could almost feel the wink he sent back to me, though it was dark enough that I couldn't see exactly what he had done when he glanced at me over his shoulder.

As we reached the statue of the witch, Sirius set down the crate of firewhiskey he had been carrying back from the Three Broomsticks. He quickly climbed up the stone slide, grasping onto a rock that stuck out of the side of the wall. It was like he had this down to a science, which, in all actuality, he probably had.

He quietly opened up the hump of the statue, peeking out from around the corner before drawing out his wand and levitating the crate of firewhiskey onto the stone floor of the castle before us. After the first crate was safely on the ground, he did the same with the crate of butterbeer I had been holding.

I shook out my numb arms, glad to have the weight of the crate off my hands for that short period of time. Sirius leaned down from his perch at the top of the slide, gesturing for me to make my way up.

Unlike Sirius, I had to take a running start from a little ways down the narrow passageway. As I shot up the stone slide, he caught a hold of my hand, hoisting me easily up the slide before clutching onto my waist in order to keep me from falling back down again.

My heart pounded away against my rib cage as his hands grazed my waist and my arms, helping me into the corridor of the castle. He leapt out from behind the statue, sealing the hump quickly.

He picked up one of the crates and I followed suit, quickly trailing behind him as we silently made our way toward the Gryffindor common room.

With Sirius, despite the fact that he didn't have the map on him, I was never nervous or anxious that we were going to get caught. He seemed to know all of the secret passageways, all of the shortcuts that wouldn't involve running into a nasty band of Slytherins or the new caretaker, Filch.

"Geeze, took you long enough," James said playfully as he leapt off the couch, taking the crate of butterbeer off my hands. I sighed in relief, making a mental note to not go with Sirius next time he needed to make an alcohol run. It seemed, from the small spread of snacks that rested on a table in the corner of the common room, that Lily had already gone down to the kitchens to procure us something to eat. "Did you two stop and make a detour or something?"

"Sure did," Sirius replied without skipping a beat. He cracked open a bottle of butterbeer, taking a quick swig. "Stopped in the Shrieking Shack for a quickie, didn't we Haley?"

"Oh yeah," I mumbled sarcastically, pulling a butterbeer of my own out from the crate, "It was the longest thirty seconds of my life."

James let out a bark of laughter as Sirius snorted into his butterbeer bottle, nearly spitting some of it out of his mouth. I was saved from his response by Lily, who had just waltzed down the girl's staircase, accompanied by Mary and Alice, who were both grinning smugly at the site of Sirius and me standing next to each other.

They seemed to do that more often than not now that Sirius and I were on speaking terms again.

"A toast!" Lily exclaimed, pulling out a few butterbeers and handing them around to our private circle. She ignored the looks of longing the younger students put on, most of them clearly in confusion as to why they weren't being included in this year's birthday bash.

Most of the time, the Marauders were more than willing to have the largest amount of people attend their parties as possible, but Lily had other plans this time around.

"It's our last real birthday celebration at the castle," she argued with Sirius for a solid two weeks before he finally relented and agreed to a smaller shindig rather than the rambunctious gathering he was used to throwing. "Let's just have something for us, something to commemorate our success at almost graduating-"

"And you not prematurely killing James," Alice threw in as she lazed on the couch, one leg thrown casually over the arm.

We all agreed, James included, though it seemed that he was partially in wonder that he even survived to his 18th birthday, as Lily had threatened death upon him many times these past seven years.

"A toast," she continued on, holding her butter beer high into the air, "To these two fine men. Both of whom I love dearly with all my heart." She paused to smile fondly at the two boys, both glowing with excitement at the focus being on them. "Happy birthday, James and Remus!"

The rest of us cheered before clinking our bottles together and taking a hefty swig. The warm liquid slid down my throat, abolishing any coolness my body exhibited due to the end of winter temperatures outside.

The party went on for a couple more hours, most of it spent by Lily shooing away younger students who were trying to sneak a bottle of firewhiskey or butterbeer back up to their dormitory room.

"Oh come on, Lily," Sirius cooed, smiling easily at her from his seat on the couch in front of the fire as he draped an arm casually over my shoulders. "Let the kids have a drink, it's only a bit of fun."

Lily rolled her bottle green eyes, shaking her head quickly. "As head girl, I cannot knowingly give out alcoholic drinks to underage students!" Her eyes flashed, though more playfully and dangerously, as she went on. "Especially since you and James made Brian Reynolds so sick last year that he had to sit in the Hospital wing for three days."

Sirius shrugged, his smile falling into a smirk at the mention of his wrongdoings. "Oh, Lily. Sweet, sweet Lily. I thought you would have learned by now…" He trailed off, shaking his head in wonder as he gestured over to a fourth year boy, who was seated in the corner of the room, a glass of firewhiskey clutched in between his small hands.

Lily gasped in astonishment as Sirius and James alike howled with laughter. Lily snatched the glass from the young boy, who fell out of his seat in an attempt to grab his alcohol back from the Head Girl. She dumped it into the fire, which reared up for a moment before settling back down into its usual crackle in the fireplace.

"He is your responsibility now," she warned, pointing between the two of them. "If he gets sick, I expect that you'll be dragging him down to Madam Pomfrey and explaining to HER why a fourteen year old boy is so…" She paused, wrinkling her nose as he leaned forward, retching up the last drink and what appeared to be his dinner, on the maroon carpet of the common room. "So sick."

"What a hostess you are," Sirius responded, tightening his grasp on my shoulder, so I fell into his side. I shifted for a moment, becoming more comfortable. In that position was how we sat for the remainder of the night.

It was at least another hour and a half before Alice and Mary retired to our room, citing that they hadn't even started packing yet and they needed to get it done before the train left early the next morning. Lily got up from her perch on her boyfriend's lap, but not before kissing him quickly on the lips and murmuring another Happy Birthday.

"Are you coming, Haley?"

I stared at her for a moment, contemplating my next move. I really was quite comfortable on the couch with Sirius's arms tightly around me. And I already had packed for the next day. I shook my head, a soft smile on my face. "I think I'll stay down here for a bit longer. Don't wait up for me though, okay?"

She smirked slightly, nodding her head before disappearing into the winding staircase that led up to the girl's dormitories. James sighed with relief as he watched her go, straightening up from his seat in the nearest armchair.

"Merlin, I thought she would never leave."

My eyes widened in surprise, as this was the first time I had actually heard James say something about him not wanting to be in Lily's presence.

"Get up, Pads, I have to show you something." He paused, glancing down at the position the two of us were in. "You can come too, Halligator, but you can't tell a soul." James stepped over Peter, who was curled on the rug in front of the fireplace, snoring loudly.

"Erm, okay?" I replied as Sirius pulled me off the couch, keeping his arm wrapped tightly around my shoulders. He was very touchy today, which wasn't like him, but I didn't say anything. It was a nice change. "Do we want to wake-?"

James shook his head, placing a finger over his lips. "Shhh, no, keep Peter there. Merlin knows he'll pee himself if he finds out and I don't want to clean up the mess."

I shrugged in indifference as we followed James out of the common room and into the deserted hallway.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the Fat Lady whispered as we took a right and descended the nearest flight of stairs. I was always in amazement that the portraits didn't tell on the students that wandered the halls at night, most particularly the Marauders, but maybe it was because three of the four were so charming that the portraits didn't bother getting them into trouble.

"Are we- are we going outside?" I hissed, stumbling over my feet before jogging to catch up with the two boys. I cursed James for a moment, as I would have grabbed my coat had I known we were going to make a trip into the late March weather.

"You have to get signed off on the Forbidden Forest," James replied as he cracked open the heavy wooden door, peeking his head out to check for Hagrid, before holding the door open for me and Sirius to slip out after him, "And I have to tell you something in complete confidence. I can't risk anyone overhearing. The situation is a win-win, really."

I sighed as I squelched through the front lawn, my breath creating small fogs against the cool air. I did my best to conserve body heat by wrapping my arms across my chest and avoiding the puddles of standing water like it was my full time job, but after a few minutes the coolness of the air nipped at my bare arms and cheeks, numbing the tip of my nose and my fingertips.

Sirius did the best he could by rubbing his hands along my arms to keep me warm, but he could only do that for so long before the weather took a toll on his body as well.

"Come on, mate, we're far enough out, don't you think?"

James took a sharp right and descended down another small hill, settling in at the bank of it just inside the edge of the forbidden forest. I shook slightly, this time not because of the weather, as I gazed around the forest.

The moon, though luckily not full, grazed the treetops, creating elongated shadows that seemed to play with my vision. Leaves rustled against the soft breeze in a way that made me wonder what was really lurking in the depths of the trees, gazing out at us and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Sirus, who seemed to somehow sense my discomfort, shifted slightly so he was standing between me and the rest of the forest. My heart melted a little bit, grateful for his concern for my wellbeing.

I watched as James reached into the back pocket of his jeans, pulling out a small, velvet jewelry box. I gasped in surprise as he cracked it open; revealing a beautiful silver ring with three princess cut diamonds adorning the top of it.

Even in the darkness, it seemed to exhibit an incredibly radiant light.

"Oh James," Sirius said with faux emotion, placing a hand over his heart, "James, you really shouldn't have. I don't know what to say."

I managed to stifle the laugh that wanted to burst out, as it probably would have echoed through the eerily quiet forest, but a small giggle did escape. James reached forward and playfully pushed his best friend before going on to explain.

"I'm going to propose to Lily over the Easter holiday." He paused, gazing down at the ring with a soft smile on his face. "The war is really getting bad out there. If one thing is for certain," he paused again, shutting the ring box with a snap and carefully tucking it back into his pocket, "I don't want to miss out on the opportunity of marrying the greatest girl I could have ever snagged."

I glanced nervously toward Sirius, whom I knew did not personally want to get married. My heart sunk at the idea, but I quickly shoot it off.

"This is what you want, mate?"

James firmly nodded his head. "This is what I want, Padfoot. Lily is the best thing that has happened to me."

Sirius reached forward and clapped his best friend on the shoulder before pulling him into a tight one-armed hug. James relaxed entirely, enveloping Sirius in return.

"Congrats, Prongs, I wish you all the best," Sirius murmured as they pulled away from each other, a bright smile set on Sirius's face. I let out a sigh of relief, nervous for a moment that he wouldn't approve of James's idea.

"You'll be the best man?"

If even possible, the smile on Sirius's face lit up even brighter. "Absolutely. I would be more than honored to be your best man."

James clapped him on the shoulder before turning around to head back up to the castle with me trailing behind; all the while wondering why he had to drag us out to the Forbidden Forest in this cold weather for that three minute conversation.


	28. Chapter 28

**A day later than I anticipated, but here it is, none the less! I am sooo happy to see all of the wonderful reviews for this series. It really makes me want to get each chapter out faster, which is what I'm going for, so stayed tuned! I'll have the next chapter out on Monday, so definitely watch out for that.**

**Keep up the awesome reviews! **

**Read and enjoy.**

"I don't understand why you're paying for her Easter vacation trip," Daniel moaned, kicking his feet up onto the table as he sneered over at me. I returned the gesture, rolling my eyes before I returned to my homework.

I had only been home 48 hours and I was already packed and ready to leave. My brother had been throwing in snide comments about my interview since our mother picked us up from the train station. I was growing increasingly tired of it.

"She's not even going to get the position," he continued on, taking a big gulp of the black coffee he had in front of him. He returned his attention back to me, grabbing a piece of toast off the plate in the middle of the table. "We all know she isn't smart enough. Why wouldn't you just-"

"That's quite enough, Daniel," my mother shushed him as she spooned a pile of eggs onto my plate. That was the one thing I absolutely missed about home- my mother's cooking. "Once you land an interview in any department, any department at all, we can talk about your father and me paying for your trip."

I snorted into my orange juice, throwing a quick smirk his way before placing a forkful of eggs into my mouth. He jeered at me once again, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Just so you know, mother," he pressed on, setting the empty mug onto the wooden table. "I do have a quite a few interviews lined up."

She bustled back into the dining room, setting another plate of eggs in front of my brother. She patted his cheek fondly before kissing him on the top of the head. "Having interviews for your next girlfriend doesn't count, Daniel, we've been over this before."

It was my brother's turn to smirk as he dug into his own plate, messily shoveling his own eggs into his mouth before following it up with an entire piece of toast. My mother grimaced at him, tsking more to herself than anything.

"That is the reason you need interviews, dear," she said as she scooted away, taking his empty mug back to the kitchen, "no girl in their clear mind would date you outright."

How fast the smirk slid off Daniel's face was quite comical and I couldn't help but burst out laughing just as I placed another forkful of egg into my mouth. It sprayed across the table, flecking my brother with pieces of egg.

He quickly grabbed his napkin, vigorously wiping at his face. "Merlin, you're disgusting. That is the reason Sirius Black won't date you."

Instead of letting the comment effect me like it normally would, I merely stuck my fork into the pile of eggs before pointing it directly at my brother. "At least I don't have to schedule interviews." I stuck the fork in my mouth, nodding curtly, quite pleased that I had won an argument against my brother for the first time I could remember.

Our father entered the dining room at just the right moment, as Daniel was unable to respond to me after that. He merely sneered and went back to his breakfast, stabbing his eggs with his fork with more force than necessary.

My dad quickly kissed my mum on the cheek before sitting down between Daniel and me at the end of the table. "Thanks, Marg," he said as she spooned some eggs onto the plate in front of him. "So today is the big day. Do you have everything ready, Haley? All your paperwork and resumes? Did you practice your greeting last night like I asked?"

I turned to him with a bright smile, holding out my hand gracefully to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mister DuChamps. My name is Haley Brams."

My father's grin was almost childlike as he grabbed my hand and kissed the top of it. "Thatta girl, Haley. Now, you're sure you have everything packed? Wouldn't want you to get all the way to Paris without-"

I nodded my head, cutting him off quickly. "Yes, father, I have everything I need. I double and triple checked my bags."

He spooned some eggs into his mouth, followed by a large gulp of orange juice. "Of course you did." He reached across the table and patted my hand fondly. "I'm so proud of all the work you put in. You really should know that I-"

A sharp knock on the door interrupted him. He turned to look at my brother, who shrugged with indifference. My mother walked out of the kitchen, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she looked at our table. "Ralph, darling, are you expecting anyone?"

My father slowly shook his head, confusion covering his face. "I was just about to ask Daniel the same thing."

"Well, we all know that no one would come to see Haley," Daniel had to throw in as he took another bite out of his eggs. I rolled my eyes, settling further into my seat before taking a bite of toast.

I heard my mother cross into the foyer, opening the door with a squeak of surprise. "Oh, I didn't realize Haley was expecting you this morning. Please, come in."

"Thank you ma'am, but she wasn't expecting me. I apologize for the intrusion."

My heart skipped a beat as I dropped my fork onto the china plate, the ping echoing across the dining room. My eyes widened as I whipped my head over to the doorway, where Sirius Black had just entered, accompanied by my mother.

I heard my brother mumbled something under his breath as he got up from the table and hustled out. I really wasn't sure why he hated Sirius so much, but evidently it was to the point of not wanting to be in the same room as him. I cocked an eyebrow toward Sirius, who smiled widely at me before making his way over to my father.

"Sir, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Sirius Black, one of Haley's friends from school." He stuck out his hand in a friendly, polite manner, but my father only looked at it warily.

"The same Sirius Black that nearly got my daughter expelled a few months ago?"

"Dad-"

"Ralph-"

But Sirius didn't skip a beat, nor did he lower his hand. I guess he was used to this kind of treatment, as he didn't show any change of emotion. "It was all a mere misunderstanding," he explained with a wide smile. My father didn't seem too charmed by him, but he reached out, grasped onto Sirius's hand, and shook it roughly anyways.

"What are you doing here, Sirius?" I asked as the awkward greeting finally ended. Sirius shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to look at me.

"Well, I came to go with you to Paris."

My jaw dropped as I struggled to come up with what to say. I opened and closed my mouth a few times. Luckily, or unluckily, for me, my father knew exactly what to say.

"No, absolutely not."

"Ralph-"

"Dad-"

My father set his copy of the Daily Prophet onto the table, crossing his arms over his chest. "No, it's not going to happen. I'm not going to pay-"

"I can pay for myself."

My father heaved a giant sigh, never a good sign, and pursed his lips to the point where they were hidden within his mustache. "The answer is still no."

"Ralph, think about this for a minute."

"No, Marg, I will not have my daughter traveling internationally with a Black. It's not going to happen."

Again, I was impressed with Sirius's willpower, as he didn't even flicker or stutter at all. If someone were speaking about me like that, I would be in the fetal position crying in the further corner of the room. But not Sirius. He took it all in stride.

"I'm actually quite familiar with the Parisian area, sir," Sirius slipped in smoothly, rocking back and forth on his heels. "I used to go quite often with my family when I was younger. I know the streets pretty well and would be able to help Haley get around the city."

My mother beamed with excitement, as I knew she thought boys even talking to me was an accomplishment. My father still wasn't buying it.

"And what about now, son? Why haven't you gone recently?"

Sirius shrugged, keeping his cool. "Haven't had the time, sir. I've been wrapped up in school work since my fifth year."

I knew that was a little white lie. Sirius moved out of his parent's house when he turned sixteen. Also, I've never actually seen Sirius do any kind of schoolwork. It's a miracle that he is actually passing his classes with such high marks.

I certainly can't see him paying off McGonagall.

"Ralph, darling," my mother cut in, placing a hand gently on Sirius's shoulder, "think about it for a moment. Haley doesn't know her way around Paris, it's such a big city. You can't go with her because of work, I can't go with her because I have to stay here with Daniel." She paused, dropping her voice to a whisper. "We all know why Daniel can't go with her." She cleared her throat, bringing her voice back up to normal. "This young man is volunteering to go with her. We can't turn him down, especially during these times. I think it's a grand idea."

My father sighed again, blowing out his cheeks dangerously. He slapped the daily prophet against the edge of the table. "I guess I have been outvoted," he finally said, standing up from his seat. He was still quite taller than Sirius, but Sirius didn't seem at all intimidated. "You take care of my little girl, Black. If anything happens to her-" he trailed off, but we all got the message.

"She's important to me too, sir. I wouldn't let a thing happen to her."

Dad nodded curtly, giving me a small hug. "I have to get to work. Good luck with your interview. The fireplace in the common area is set up for your travels. It will take you right to the hotel, just say Paris when you put the floo powder down."

"Okay, dad, thank you."

He nodded again, giving my mother another kiss on the cheek. "Breakfast was great, Marg. I'll see you tonight when I get home from work." With that, he apparated out of the house with a small pop.

My mother smiled at Sirius and I. "You better get your things, Haley. Wouldn't want you being late checking in." She patted me affectionately on the cheek. "Have a good time, darling. Tell me all about it when you get home."

"Yes, mum, I will."

She clicked out of the room and into my father's study, where she would probably spend the morning ready her favorite book. She usually did that every day after breakfast was cleaned up. I turned to look at Sirius, who was grinning widely down at me. I slapped him playfully on the arm.

"How did you know what time I was leaving? I don't remember mentioning it to you."

Sirius's grin turned into a smirk. "You were reading a letter from your father a couple days before term ended. I just so happened to glance at it from over your shoulder, so I got the idea to surprise you. Surprised?"

I took in his easy going look. His black hair still hung in his gray eyes. He wore a pair of jeans with a plain black t-shirt, long sleeved to combat the cold. He donned a thin gray jacket, though I doubt that he really needed it. I smiled up at him, nodding my head. "Yeah, it was a nice surprise, thank you."

He shrugged with one shoulder, gesturing with his head toward the front of the house. "Are you ready to go? Wouldn't want you to be late, after all."

I scoffed at him, turning on my heels to march toward the common room, where my things were already set up by the fireplace. Coincidently, or not, someone had set Sirius's luggage right next to mine.

"Ladies first."

I took a deep breath before situating my trunk into the fireplace, being careful to nestle it as close to my legs as I could. Sirius held out the bag of floo powder that sat on the mantle. I quickly threw it onto the ground, yelling out "Paris!" before the green flames whisked me away.

I always hated traveling by floo. The abruptness of it all usually made me gasp, therefore sending me into hacking fits as I tried to catch my breath all the while spinning past different fireplaces and exits. It was all quite dizzying.

I managed to catch my breath just as the spinning started to slow down, finally spitting me out in the lobby of a very swanky looking hotel. I was gawking at the beauty of it just as Sirius stumbled out next to me, catching his balance by throwing his hands onto my shoulders.

Unfortunately, his weight was much more than I expected and he ended up sending me tumbling over my trunk and onto the marble floor. He reached down and hauled me to my feet, sending me an apologetic grin just as one of the hotel staff bustled over.

"Good morning," the staff member bowed, extending his hand out in welcome, "thank you for choozing ze Hotel de Paris. My name iz Marques and I can be of servize to you." He straightened up, a warm grin on his elderly face. "Now, how can I assist you today?"

"I-uh," I jumbled for a minute, unable to think of what to say. "Checking in! Yes, checking in. The name should be under Brams."

The elderly man nodded excitedly. "We have been expecting you, Mizz Brams. Please, come with me. I will show you to your room."

I pulled a face at Sirius, who chuckled under his breath in response.

The hotel was beautifully set up. Plants hung from the high ceilings, more foliage donned every corner the hotel lobby had to offer. The marble turned into a plush, dark blue carpet just past the main desk, where a number of attendants were seated waiting for people to come in.

Marques led us toward the elevator, which he maneuvered himself, despite his old age. Sirius made multiple attempts to help him, but the elderly man seemed determined to do it himself.

We made it up to the room in a longer amount of time than expected, especially since, as soon as we got off the elevator, Marques was determined to physically drag our luggage to the room himself. Sirius pointed out the wand sticking out from the back pocket of his pants, but I just shook my head and shrugged.

I wasn't quite sure why the old man didn't just use his wand, but whatever. His choice, I guess.

Marques continued to drag our luggage into the room, setting it at the end of the bed- wait, hold on one second.

Bed. As in singular. One bed set in the middle of the room.

I started to sweat a little bit, my hands and legs started shaking as if I were a little dog. Would I really have to share a BED with SIRIUS BLACK?!

Of course, it didn't seem to bother Sirius at all. He threw himself on the (still singular) bed, supporting his neck by placing his hands behind his head. He sank into the fluffy mattress, a large grin on his face.

"Come on, Brams, check out this bed!"

Marques turned to me, a sly grin on his face. "Can I get you two anyzing else? Maybe a bottle of champagne and a set of candles?"

My eyes widened in mortification as I quickly shook my head. "Oh God, no. We actually aren't dating. We aren't even together. I'm here for an interview and he's just making sure I get around okay. Actually, can you get me an extra set of blankets? I think I'll just sleep on the floor-"

Sirius pushed himself off the bed before coming up behind me and placing his hands on my shoulders. An uncomfortable zing shot up my spine and I mentally cursed it. "She doesn't mean that, sir. We're here on our honeymoon-"

"No, no we aren't-"

"And we would just love a bottle of champagne-"

"I promise you that isn't necessary-"

"And some of those candles you were talking about? We would love to consummate our new marriage under the soft glow of candlelight-"

"Do you like it when I hurt you? Is that why you're tempting me?"

Marques watched the exchange with a wide smile on his face. I didn't like the gleam of joy he had in his eye. I'm sure Sirius was behind me, winking away. "I get you champagne and many candlez for your first night een Paris." He turned on his heel and shuffled out of the room, mumbling under his breath about the happiness of young love.

As soon as the door shut behind him, I shoved Sirius away from me, where he started uncontrollably laughing from his perch on the bed.

"You are ridiculous, Sirius!" I exclaimed, putting my hands on my hips. "Now everyone is going to think we just got married!"

He settled back on the bed, letting his head sink back into the soft pillows. He patted the bed next to him, but I crossed my arms over my chest and stood my ground. "No way, Black. There is no way."

He smirked before quickly leaning toward me and pulling me from the spot where I stood. I collapsed half on him, half on the bed and I quickly shimmied over to the other side of the bed, as far away from Sirius as I possibly could. It was mortifying enough that I was supposed to spend the night with him in the same bed. Eeeep.

Unfortunately, he scooted his body over so his side was thrush against mine. He whipped out a folded up piece of parchment from the pocket of his pants, summoning a quill from the desk that was nestled in the corner of the room.

"Merlin, how do you keep getting that?" I asked in frustration as I watched him sign off on number 26- snuggle in bed with a boy without doing anything…inappropriate.

He chuckled as he folded up the parchment and handed it to me. "Well," he sighed, making a motion to get off the bed, "that's all I came for. Better be getting back to the apartment-"

I gasped loudly, tugging on the back of his shirt to force him to lie back down. He fell back into the soft mattress next to me with a loud 'omph.' "I hope you're joking. That would have been a mean prank."

He wormed his arm under my shoulders, settling his hand on my upper arm. "It was a joke, Brams. I'm here with you until the end."

"Or at least until that free champagne bottle comes, right?"

He chuckled again, shaking his head. "You're too much, Brams. You're just too much."


	29. Chapter 29

**Hello everyone! Thank you for being so patient with me. I got the chapter out as quickly as I could!  
I wanted to thank all of you for your lovely reviews and alert addings. It's been amazing to see this story grow. I am floored with how much you guys love it. So THANK YOU!**

**Read and enjoy!**

I shook hands with Jacques DuChamp as I stood from the seat across from him. He stood with me, straightening out his black robes. "Thank you so much for the opportunity, sir. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am."

"Eet waz very nice to meet you, Haley. I would really love eet if you came back for a followup eenterview in ze last weekend of May. Zat way we can work out ze detailz and zee if you get a position in our program."

A wide smile spread on my face as he led me to the office door, holding it open for me. "I would love that, sir. I would absolutely love that."

"We will zee you zen, Haley Brams. Keep doing well in school, yes?"

I nodded my head as I made my way toward the main lobby of the Law Enforcement department. I spotted Sirius lounging in a plush chair in the corner of the room, his eyes trained on the blue carpet under his feet. His eyes flicked up and he shot out of his seat when he saw me standing at the entrance of the lobby.

He made his way through the crowd of applicants, a few of the girls staring at him with a gleam in their eyes, before swinging his arm over my shoulders and leading me toward the entrance of the Ministry.

"So? How did it go?" he asked as we pushed our way through the traffic of people heading to their offices. My heels tapped loudly against the marble floor, drawing attention to me from quite a few of the employees.

"It went really well," I spilled as soon as the guard let us go into the street. We continued our walk with the muggle crowd, blending in as if we had been there all along. "Gosh, it went more than really well, Sirius, it was fantastic. He asked me to come back the last weekend of May." I let out a squeal of happiness, jumping into the air. Sirius laughed. "They're already talking about working out the details of me possibly getting into the program."

Sirius, who hadn't removed his arm from my shoulders, gave me a tight squeeze. "Haley, that's amazing. Congratulations!"

I beamed up at him, squinting slightly from the bright sun that shone into my eyes. "Thanks so much for coming out here with me Sirius. I couldn't have found my way without you."

He shrugged lightly, taking his arm off of my shoulders and stuffing both hands into the pockets of his pants. "I actually came for another reason too."

I looked up at him, confusion covering my face.

We took a quick left at a major intersection, heading back toward the hotel so we could collect our things.

He sighed, smiling down at me. "I actually got some good news too. I officially applied for Auror school at the UK Ministry of Magic."

My eyes widened as I stopped in my tracks. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to apply? Sirius, that is great news-"

He shook his head, turning around so he was facing me. "That isn't the news. I got a letter back. The director of the program said as long as I do well on my NEWTS, I have a spot in the program. Haley, I'm going to be an auror."

I cried out in excitement, throwing myself at him without even thinking. The force of my body knocked him back a couple of steps, but he caught me easily, holding me close against him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "Sirius! Merlin, Sirius, that is great news!"

He spun me around a couple times as I squealed with laughter. A few passersby gazed on with smiles, pointing at our crazy antics from across the street. My face grew red with the attention we had drawn, but he seemed to bask in it.

It was the first time, I realized, that we had been that close to each other since we shared that kiss a couple of months ago. I didn't mind at all, I had to admit. I missed being that close to him. Smelling his sharp cologne, feeling his soft fingers against the nape of my neck.

I shook the thought away quickly, just as another crossed my mind.

I would be in France. All of my time would be devoted to learning the wizarding laws, how to try cases, how to fight for my clients.

He would be in England. All of his time would be devoted to catching killers, spying on criminals.

We wouldn't have time for each other. We wouldn't even have time for ourselves.

The thought seemed to cross his mind as well. He looked down at me, his gray eyes filled with concern. I merely shrugged, snaking my arm around his waist. "Let's head back, shall we? And tell everyone the great news?"

He responded by silently placing an arm across my shoulders, leading me toward the hotel once again.

…

My parents, of course, were more than thrilled to hear the great news of my interview.

"I'm so proud of you, darling," my mother said, enveloping me in a hug that only mothers can give. "You've worked so hard these past couple of years. You deserve to get into that program more than anyone else."

My father gave me a short, one-armed hug accompanied by a huge smile that was nearly covered by his bushy mustache. "Only one interview to go, Haley. You did it."

Daniel, on the other hand, didn't bother coming out of his room. I would have guessed it was because Sirius was there, but I really didn't know. He probably didn't want to hear everyone fawning over me either.

"Since that is out of the way," I sighed, turning to look at my mother, who was profusely thanking Sirius for going with me to Paris, "Mum, is it okay if I spend the rest of Easter vacation with Lily? I received a letter in Paris asking me to visit as soon as I got home."

"With him?" My father gestured with his head toward Sirius, who was leaning against the doorframe of the sitting room. My mother sent him a glare before turning back to me.

"I'll be staying with Lily, he's only giving me a ride," I lied coolly, silently crossing my fingers behind my back. I had never actually lied to my parents before, but Lily had been quite desperate to get in touch with me.

My mother glanced toward my father, who shrugged indifferently. It was clear- my mother had some sort of talk with him about my friendship with Sirius. He was being a good sport about it, for the most part, but it still seemed quite difficult for him. "It's fine with me," she finally said, turning back to look at me with a small smile, "we'll see you at your graduation, okay darling?"

I grinned at my parents before spinning on my heels and leading Sirius toward the front of the house. "Is it safe to assume that you're going to take me to James's house?"

Sirius laughed, nodding as he opened the front door, pointing toward the motorcycle. "It'll be a better ride than last time. Not only because I'll talk to you, but because it's actually nice outside."

And he was right. The sun was shining, the clouds had disappeared for the afternoon. The flowers my mom had planted were slowly starting to bud, as were the leaves on the trees in my front yard.

He threw one leg over the bike, settling into the seat before holding out his hand to help me on. I took it with a giggle, throwing my own leg over the bike with more difficulty than he did. With one swoop of his wand, he locked both my trunk and his luggage onto the rack behind me. He kicked the bike in the gear. It roared to life before Sirius sped off down the street.

I slowly removed my hands from his waist, slowly putting them into the air. The speed mixed with the gorgeous sun put a massive smile on my face.

"WOOO!" I yelled, thrusting my hands even further toward the sky. I felt Sirius shake with laughter as he removed one hand from the bike and punched it in the air. He reached back slightly, grabbing my hand and lacing his fingers through mine.

I leaned forward, placing my chin on his shoulder, all the while keeping our hands intertwined. We rode in silence for a little while longer before he slowed down to turn onto James's street. He kicked the bike off in front of the large house.

I took in the beautiful site- even without the bright lights and the Christmas tree, the house was still radiant in the spring time. Mrs. Potter had planted different colored flowers in front of the large, wooden porch. She had put up a few different figurines, which were currently being carried off by small gnomes that had popped up from underneath the porch.

Sirius, still holding my hand, helped me off the bike before tossing his own leg over. He untied both of the trunks, sending them toward the house before letting them down slowly in front of the house. There was just enough of a noise on the porch for James and Lily to know we had arrived, as Lily threw open the front door and shot through the front lawn like a bat out of hell.

I had barely made it onto the grass before she collided into me, nearly knocking me to the ground, in her attempt to wave her left hand in front of my face.

"Haley, Merlin, Haley. I have so much to tell you," she said with excitement, pulling away from me before grasping onto my shoulders. Her red hair was disheveled and had fallen into her face, but the smile she wore was the brightest I had ever seen. She looked absolutely radiant. "How was your trip? How was the interview? I know it was perfect, you were destined for that position, everyone knows it." She didn't give me the chance to answer any of her questions.

James came up behind her, reaching over her shoulder to rub the top of my head, easily pulling locks of blonde hair from the messy bun at the base of my neck. The breeze blew the loose strands across my face and, in light of Lily being so close to me, it took a moment to get them back under control.

Sirius leaned forward and clapped his best friend on the shoulder. "I see you did it, mate, congratulations."

I forced Lily to take a few steps away from me, pushing her back by placing my hands on her shoulders. I reached ahead and grabbed onto her left hand, where the beautiful, sparkling diamond ring that James had shown me only a few days before rested perfectly on her ring finger.

"Oh Merlin, James, I thought it was going to take longer than that," I squealed, turning to hug James tightly around the neck. He returned my grin with a wide smile of his own, hugging me back tightly.

"You know that I couldn't wait too long. Just in case Snivellus came back into the picture. Couldn't have that, now could we?"

Lily playfully sneered at her now-fiancé, before flicking her eyes back to me. "You already knew?" she asked, her voice littered with disappointment.

I quickly shook my head, holding my hands up in surrender. "James told us that he was going to, but he didn't give me the detai-"

I couldn't even finish my sentence before Lily grabbed a hold of my upper arm and dragged me around the back of the house, where she could gush without the boys seeing her.

"It was perfect," Lily said, falling against the house as she looked up toward the clear sky, a distant smile on her face. "Absolutely perfect. We had just finished dinner with my family, Petunia bailed of course, before he asked me to come into the backyard with him." Her smile grew as she twisted the ring around her finger. "The moon was shining, the stars were out. The backyard was covered with floating candles."

She paused to laugh, shaking her head. "Thank God my parents have a high fence. I can't imagine the neighbors taking a hundred floating candles very well." I chuckled under my breath, deciding not to say anything until she had gotten the rest of the story out. "Anyways, he-" She stopped, cocking an eyebrow at me. "You don't believe me for a second, do you?"

I rapidly shook my head. "No, not at all."

She laughed loudly, tossing her red locks over her shoulder. "Well, you're right. It was still perfect, but in the James Potter kind of way." She rolled her eyes, pushing herself off the wall. "We were at my parent's house for dinner, but the proposal was quite different. He meant to put the ring in a piece of cake and have me find it when I cut into the cake, but-" She stopped to shake her head. "It was a freak accident, really. James was sending the ring across the kitchen, trying to bury it in the cake, when my mum so happened to spit out a piece of gum at the same time. Long story short, the ring got stuck to the gum, which James didn't notice, but in his nervousness, he accidently sent it into Petunia's hair."

My jaw dropped. I was lost for words.

"Petunia went mad, of course, which only worked the gum deeper into her hair. I finally helped get it out, which is where I found the ring." Lily shrugged casually. "He had to propose on the spot, as I already had the ring in my hand." She stopped to snigger. "Petunia wasn't as happy for me as I thought she would be."

I let out a large laugh, slapping my knees with my hands. "Who knew James had a romantic bone in his body."

Lily joined me, both of us now laughing wildly in the backyard of the Potter's house. We straightened up with difficulty, wiping the tears of joy from our eyes. After we had cooled down, Lily turned to look at me. "What I really wanted to talk to you about was the wedding." She wringed her hands, nervously glancing up at me. "I was wondering if you would be my maid of honor."

I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, unsure of what to say. "What about Dorcas? Or Alice? I mean, I wouldn't know what to do." It was the complete truth. The last wedding I attended was of my Aunt Ceclia the summer before. It was her sixth wedding in ten years, so it was a rather small affair. She had already filed for divorce.

Lily smiled softly, taking my hands. "One of the only reasons that James and I started dating was because of you. You forced me to open my eyes and see what was right in front of me." She stopped to shake her head. "We've grown so close these past few months and I would really love it if you stood next to me at the wedding."

I closed my mouth tightly before nodding my head, a grin appearing on my lips. "I would be honored to stand next to you at the wedding." Lily let out an uncharacteristic squeal of excitement as she lunged forward and hugged me around the neck.

"Everything is just happening so fast," she explained, shaking out her arms nervously, "with getting engaged and you with Sirius-"

"Whoa," I interrupted her, shaking my head, "Sirius and I are not together. We're just friends-"

Lily let out a small chuckle. "Can't you see that the two of you are meant to be together?" she asked, exasperated. "It's clear that you're in love with each other. We are in the middle of a war, time is too short to worry about anything less. That's why James and I are trying to get married in June."

I furrowed my brow, looking up at Lily in confusion. "What does the war have to do with you getting married so quickly?"

She stopped moving, glancing down at me with uncertainty. She took a deep breath, blowing out her cheeks before responding. "This was is so difficult for everyone and it's already taken a lot of innocent lives. They need all the help they can get trying to rid the world of the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who. Haley, I've already talked to Professor Dumbledore about it. I've decided to follow James and Sirius into the Order."


	30. Chapter 30

**Hello all! So sorry about the delay again! I'm trying my very hardest to get these out on time for you, so I really do thank you for your patience! The semester is winding down, which means a lot more studying, so I'll continue my once a week posting until the end of April. In May, I'll be going back to posting every few days or so!**

**Thank you SO much to all of the awesome reviews I've continued to receive over this story. It honestly makes it that much more fun to write, so please keep them coming!**

**As usual, read and enjoy!**

The weekend after we returned from Easter vacation was the final Hogsmeade trip of the school year. It was a beautiful day- the sun was shining, the air was warm, the breeze blew in the wonderful smells of growing plants and summertime.

The group that had developed over the past year (the Marauders plus Alice, Mary, Lily, and I) decided to head to the village together instead of going on individual dates. Since it was our last trip, well, ever, we wanted to make the best of it.

"I can't believe how beautiful it is!" Alice squealed, breaking away from Filch the caretaker as she ran down the hill in the front lawn toward our group. It had slowly started to migrate toward the trail that led toward the village, as Alice was the last one to be let out of the castle.

She hooked her elbow with mine, dragging me further along the trail as she skipped alongside me. I giggled at her over-the-top behavior, everyone was clearly excited about the long-awaited trip.

"Where are we going first?" I heard Remus ask a few yards behind us. "The Three Broomsticks or Zonko's?"

"I say Zonko's," Mary chimed in, laughing loudly as someone, probably Sirius, tried to trip her. "I need to stock up on some stuff before the end of the year."

James agreed, but was cut off quickly by a loud squeal of excitement that nearly pierced my eardrum. Alice launched herself away from me, sprinting toward the beginning of the village where someone was waiting for her.

Frank Longbottom, to be exact.

His hair was slicked back, giving him a much more serious look than I remembered him having the years he was at Hogwarts, but his brown eyes still danced happily when he spotted Alice. And, of course, I couldn't help, but notice the boutique of wildflowers he held in his right hand.

Alice locked her arms around his neck, pulling him into a deep kiss that he didn't mind sharing at all. James and Sirius whooped playfully, turning to each other to mock the kiss. Frank bent down and picked up a few small pebbles, lobbing them in the direction of the two jokesters.

"You two never change," he chuckled, placing an arm lovingly around Alice's shoulders. She snaked her own arm around his waist, her face beaming from ear to ear with joy. This was the one time that I ever saw Alice truly emanating happiness- when she was with Frank. "I heard a congratulations was in order, Sirius, for getting into the auror program."

Frank was a current member, about a year in. Alice was planning on following her boyfriend into the profession, though not because he was in it. She always enjoyed the adventures, the sense of danger always fascinated her. She put in her application to the program before Sirius did. She heard that she had locked a spot for herself as well, just as long as she passed her NEWTS of course.

"Tenatively," Sirius responded with a grin as he caught up to the three of us, shaking hands with Frank before stuffing them back into his pockets. "Have to pass my exams first."

Frank shrugged casually. "I'm sure you'll do fine. Oy, Potter, I thought you were applying for the program too. I was under the impression you two couldn't do anything without each other."

"If you punch one, the other will feel it," I interjected, leaning forward to sock Sirius on the shoulder.

James hissed in pain, jokingly rubbing his own shoulder. "Gosh, Haley, not so hard next time." He shook hands with Frank, cutting the joke just as we all started laughing. "I was planning on it, Frank, but other things weighed heavier on my mind."

Frank nodded knowingly. Either he knew about James joining the Order or he thought James didn't apply, because of his recent engagement to Lily. If I had to hazard a guess, my bet would have been on the first option.

As the group, now accompanied by Frank, started to migrate toward Zonko's, Remus caught up to me, pulling me aside gently.

"If you're anything like me," he said with a small smile, "and I think you are, then you would be more interested in going to Tomes and Scrolls rather than the joke shop." My eyes lit up with excitement as I profusely nodded my head. I motioned for him to give me a moment before I caught up to Alice, tugging on the back of her jacket.

"I'm heading off with Remus for a bit," I said softly, a grin on my lips. "We're going into Tomes and Scrolls if you need us."

She rolled her eyes and muttered something about that being typical, but she didn't seem upset. By the smirk on her face, I could tell that she was joking. I broke away from her, but not before sending a nod of confirmation toward Sirius, who had been watching our exchange from across the group.

As I reached Remus, I snaked an arm around his waist as he led the two of us in the direction of the bookstore. "What made you think of Tomes and Scrolls?" I asked curiously, holding my hand to my forehead to keep the sun out of my eyes. "I was under the impression that we were all going as a group the whole day."

Remus shrugged, unwinding himself from my grasp to open up the door. The bell sounded with a soft ding, signaling to the shopkeepers that customers had arrived. "I hope you didn't think I forgot my promise to take you to the bookstore before we graduated," he replied with a smile, which accentuated the deep scars on his cheeks.

I merely responded with a smile of my own, dipping into the shop before he did.

The bookstore was quiet and dimly lit; most of the sunlight was kept out by large shades that were drawn over the windows. Candles were flickering near the checkout desk, making it easier for the shopkeeper to see the register, I was sure.

The walls were lined with books of all kinds: textbooks, leisure books, autobiographies. I skirted by Remus, who had picked up a well-known novel that had just been released a few months back, and headed toward the leisure section. I let my fingertips graze the binds, leaving a clean trail through the thick dust that had settled over the years.

Remus was right- the others wouldn't have come into this stop willingly. If I were to have dragged the girls or Sirius in here, they probably would have set it on fire. Whether that would be on purpose or by accident remains to be seen.

I settled onto a stool near the back corner of the stop, immersing myself in a muggle book by the name of Romeo and Juliet. The story was tragic, I could tell, but good enough that I couldn't put it down. Two star-crossed lovers only trying to find their place in the world.

I didn't know how long I had sat in the back, but Remus waited patiently for me, never bothering to rush me or shoo me out of the store. He settled onto a stool next to me, skimming over a textbook on rare magical creatures- most of them being extinct or near to it.

The door swung open, bringing in with it a rush of warm air. It hit the candlelit, making the flames dance against the wick. I welcomed the fresh breeze, taking in a deep breath that easily swept away all of the musty smells of the shop. I glanced up, furrowing my brow when I spotted Sirius making his way through the rows- alone.

I placed a finger in the crease of the book to hold my spot, looking up toward Sirius as he stopped in front of me, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "What are you doing in here? I thought you were at the joke shop with the others?"

Sirius shrugged, rocking back and forth on his heels. "They went into the quidditch store, much to Lily's dismay. I figured I would come find you…you know, to make sure you were okay."

I gestured toward the book, opening it back up carefully. "Just enjoying the fine works of Shakespeare. I've never read anything by him before."

"Well, we're all meeting back up at the Three Broomsticks in about an hour. I actually came to see if you wanted to stop by Honeydukes with me before then."

I cocked an eyebrow, smirking up at him. "I was under the impression that we were under a life-long ban from there."

He shrugged, returning the smirk. "It'll be so busy, I doubt they would even notice."

I glanced down toward the book, torn between sitting in the bookshop for another hour or heading with Sirius to Honeydukes. Just as I was about to sigh and place the book back on the shelf, a hand reached over and marked the page for me before collecting the book and placing it in his lap.

I looked over at Remus, who was smiling gently at me from his perch on the stool. "You go ahead with Sirius," he said, tucking the book underneath his own, "I'll be here for a little bit longer, I'll pay for your book."

"Oh, Remus, you don't have to do that," I started, but he quickly shook his head.

"Yes, I do." He dropped his voice to a near whisper. "Consider it an apology gift for almost killing you a few months back."

I was surprised he had mentioned the incident, as he usually tried with all his might to avoid talking about it, but I leaned forward and hugged him tightly around the neck. "Thank you so much." I rose from my stool, wiping the dust that had stuck to the back of my pants off, and waved at Remus before Sirius placed a hand on my lower back, leading me out of the shop.

The sunlight hit my eyes hard, forcing me to squint for a few moments before I adjusted to the bright light that reflected through the streets. Sirius and I headed toward the candy shop, joking all the way about what we would do if the owner recognized us.

Luckily the shop was packed, making it easier to slip in unnoticed.

The walls were lined with all sorts of goodies. Third years were packing their bags full of chocolate and other sugar-filled treats, trying to spend all the money their parents gave them before they had to go home for the summer. I smiled fondly, remembering doing the same thing with Alice and Mary when we were younger.

I quickly remembered one of the few things on the list I still had to do. I glanced around the shop for a moment, making sure that no one was watching before I snuck two pieces of chocolate into my pocket. I pushed back through the crowd, finding Sirius hovering at the door with the shop owner's hand tightly around his upper arm.

"I thought I told you to never come back here," he hissed in Sirius's ear, pushing him out the door. I slipped past the shop owner, who was still yelling at Sirius, pressing my back up against the wooden siding. "Now get out of my store." He let go of Sirius's arm with some force, pushing him back into the street.

Sirius barely moved an inch, much to the chagrin of the owner.

He spotted me as soon as he turned his head, a wide grin appearing on his face. He shook his black hair from his gray eyes, placing an arm around my shoulders. "Well that didn't go as planned," he said with a barky laugh, "Guess I'll have to order my candy through owl from now on."

"Ten galleons says the owner rips up the order form as soon as he sees it," I replied with a giggle as he led us toward The Three Broomsticks, "Besides…" I trailed off, reaching into my pocket to pull out the two pieces of candy.

Sirius roared with delight, taking one of them from my outstretched hand before unwrapping it and popping it in his mouth. "I didn't even see you take these!" he chuckled, shaking his head slowly. We pushed past a group of fifth years, battling the crowd headed toward the infamous pub. "I'm really impressed with how much you've-"

There was a terrible scream that echoed through the village. Our heads shot up, squinting through the sunlight toward the end of the main street, where a young woman was lying on the ground, spots of blood pooling around her head. Standing just above her was a man dressed in black robes, a mask donning his face.

"Death eaters," Sirius said with menace.

I felt the blood drain from my face as more and more of them apparated into the village. In no time at all, at least fifteen of them were headed into the village, stunning students and shop keepers. Chaos broke out as students rushed back toward the trail leading to the school.

They tripped over each other, pushed each other out of the way. The streets became more and more congested as students came pouring out of the shops to figure out what was going on, only to start running with the crowd once they saw the death eaters making their way through the streets.

"Don't be afraid," I heard one taunt a fourth year girl, who was cowering against the side of a building, "we just came to recruit…"

I felt Sirius adjust himself next to me, pulling me behind him slowly before whipping out his wand and shooting a stunning curse at the unsuspecting death eater. He collapsed to the ground, smacking his head audibly against the cobblestone street. The fourth year girl scampered away, sending Sirius a look of gratitude before joining her friends, who were gathered in a frightened group near the corner of the building.

"What are they doing here?" I heard someone beside me yell. Turning to my left, I was surprised to see Lily and James, who had evidently just tumbled out of the Three Broomsticks after hearing the chaotic screams from just outside.

"Death Eaters," Sirius yelled back, trying to be heard over the commotion. "Trying to recruit, but I'm guessing there is more to it than-" Sirius stopped talking, forcing me to the ground just as a Death Eater shot a nasty looking purple curse toward us. It hit the building right where my head previously was.

James leapt in front of us, taking aim at the Death Eater who was trying to attack, sending another jinx his way. Sirius launched himself off the ground, dragging me up with him as he surveyed the scene around him. Shop owners were closing up their doors, not wanting any trouble from the Death eaters. Some older students had stayed to help fight and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a few aurors had apparated into the area, much thanks to a quick message Frank had sent out to them.

"Get them out of here, Sirius!" James commanded, easily blocking a jinx.

"Follow me," Sirius hissed in my ear, grabbing onto Lily's wrist to force her into coming too. Alice saw us just as she took down the death eater she had been dueling, following us up the rocky path that led out of the village.

"What are you doing? Where are you doing?" she yelled, sending another jinx toward a death eater who was trying to get cheap shots in at other students. "The school is that way-"

"But the Death Eaters have already blocked off the immediate path back to the school," Sirius interjected, gesturing vaguely toward the other end of the village. It was true- the death eaters had already made it damn near impossible to use that trail.

Alice nodded in understanding before peeling away, sprinting toward the end of the village where the death eaters had gathered. My heart swelled in admiration for my best friend, who was putting herself in grave peril to help her fellow students in need.

"Where is Peter?" I heard Remus say from behind us as he scampered up to the top of the hill. "I can't find Peter any where!"

"We'll find him," Sirius reassured him as he helped me climb over the side of the fence toward the Shrieking Shack. "Just help me get these two out of here and-"

"Whoa," Lily said, stopping in her tracks at the fence, "I'm not leaving here without James. He's down there, I have to go help him!" She made to run down the hill, but Sirius grabbed a hold of her arm and pulled her back toward the fence.

"Either you climb over or I'm throwing you over. The choice is up to you."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest, standing her ground as she cocked an eyebrow at Sirius. He shook his head, but reached forward and easily threw Lily over his shoulder as he climbed the fence, Lily screeching and kicking the entire way.

"Come on, Haley, hurry," he said, Lily still draped over his shoulder as he made his way through the thick weeds. He held up his wand, cracking open the window that I had used to sneak into the shack with Alice those many months ago.

"Wait, you're coming with us, right?" I said hurriedly as he pushed me up into the shack, dumping Lily on the dusty floor next to me. "Sirius? Sirius, you're not going back are you?"

"Sorry, love. I have to go back," he said before slamming the window down, sealing it with a spell. I was sent into a coughing fit from the amount of dust that had shot up from the windowsill, but Lily launched herself toward the window, banging on it furiously as Sirius jogged back up the hill before easily jumping the fence.

"Merlin, Sirius Black!" she screamed, pounding on the window. She took out her wand, waving it a few times in order to try and get the window to open, but it was no use. It seemed that Sirius had sealed it for good this time. "I'm going to kill him, I'm absolutely going to kill him," she growled, stamping her foot on the ground. "How do we even get out of here?"

I shakily stood up from the dirty floor, wiping off as much dust from the back of my jeans as I could before leading the way out of the torn up bedroom. Lily swatted her hand through the air, clearing the spider webs out of our path. I walked down the hallway, my legs still feeling like a bowl of jello, before leading her down the stairs. I reached down, pulling at the trap door that led to the tunnel.

"Oh, you have to be kidding me," Lily said, though I could hear the uncertain fear in her voice. She glanced down the hole nervously as I took out my own wand and lit the end.

"It's okay," I reassured her, descending down the rickety, wooden stairs and into the dark tunnel. "It just leads to the base of the Whomping Willow, right onto the grounds."

Lily hesitantly followed me into the dark tunnel and we slowly made our way back toward the school. It seemed like we had walked for hours, as both of us tripped over the roots of the trees above us quite a few times. When I could finally see the outside world, I was surprised to note that the tree wasn't moving at all.

"I thought you said you put them in the shack," I heard James say, frustrated. "What if they got out? What if they-"

"They couldn't have gotten out," Sirius interjected, "Permanent sticking charm."

I reached through the hole at the base of the tree and I heard Alice shriek, "There I see them! Quit fighting like an old married couple and help them out!"

I saw Sirius scamper toward the hole, reaching down to pull me out of the tunnel. He immediately pulled me into a tight embrace, placing his forehead in the base of my neck. "Thank God you're okay," he murmured, holding me tight against his body. I hugged him back, thankful there was another day where I saw Sirius Black alive.

I pulled away from him, taking in the faces of the group. James had small scratches across his cheeks, but otherwise looked to be intact. Alice had her arms crossed over her chest, but she looked relatively unscathed. I furrowed my brow, glancing around Remus and Peter. "Where's Mary?"

Sirius reached forward and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind my ear, but he still didn't say anything. "Where's Mary?" I asked again, panic bubbling up my throat. Lily, who had finally pulled away from James, seemed to notice that something had gone wrong too. I turned toward Alice, who had tears welling in her eyes. "Alice, where is Mary?"

She took a shaky breath before blowing out her cheeks. "You know that girl we saw with the pool of blood around her head?" I slowly shook my head, my eyes as wide as tea saucers. "That was Mary. Mulciber attacked her, he left with the death eaters. Haley, they transferred her to St. Mungo's. She isn't doing well at all."


	31. Chapter 31

**Okay, so first of all I owe you a MASSIVE apology. One the size of the Great Wall of China and the Grand Canyon combined. Because I haven't updated this story in so long that I'm afraid I don't have any fans left! **

**I got so wrapped up in the end of the semester that I just didn't have the time to write! But never fear, for I'll be putting out more chapters since it is summer time! Expect at least two updates a week, but I'm thinking more will come along once I get into the groove of it.**

**Again, please accept my very sincere apology and thank you for all the extra encouragement! I did not and do not plan to abandon this story. I love writing it and I love having you read it! **

**Make sure to leave a review on the way out, please!  
Read and enjoy!**

In the days following the attack were just as hard as the day of the attack. Mary was still in the hospital in critical condition. She hadn't woken up yet, so the healers weren't exactly sure what her outcome was going to be. The first night she was gone, the group and I slept in the common room together, not wanting to be separated in fear of the death eaters somehow finding their way into the castle.

Remus said it was highly unlikely with Dumbledore as the headmaster, but he obliged our feelings anyways by crashing on the floor next to the fireplace.

The second night she was gone, most of the boys whined about sleeping in the common room again, since their backs were hurting so bad from the night before, so they opted to sleep in their own dormitory. Without the boys there, Alice, Lily, and I felt most uncomfortable sleeping in the common room alone (mostly because the boys could wake up in the middle of the night and draw mustaches on our faces or something equally horrendous), so we decided to try our hand at sleeping in our own dormitory as well.

I tossed and turn for a few hours, unable to get to sleep. I kept glancing over at Mary's empty four-poster bed, a chill running down my spine when the thought of what she must be going through crossed my mind. Besides holidays and summer vacation, Mary had slept right next to me for the past seven years. Seeing her bed so empty was unsettling.

I ended up throwing the covers off around one in the morning and creeping over to her bed. I lifted the covers and slid in; breathing in the scent of my best friend all the while hoping that she would come out of this alive and unscathed.

I managed to get another hour or so of sleep before I felt the other side of the covers lift up. I glanced over my shoulder, surprised to see Alice sliding into bed next to me.

"You missed her too?" was all she said before collapsing onto the soft mattress, facing the opposite direction that I was. I merely nodded, but I doubt that she even saw it. Inner turmoil had been raging inside Alice for the past couple days and, even though I hadn't asked why she was having such a difficult time, I just assumed that it was because of Mary and the attack.

I got another twenty minutes of shut eye before the hangings around the bed were ripped open, revealing a bed-headed Lily in shorts and a tank top. Though it was hard to see in the middle of the night, the glow of the moon shining through the window let me catch a glimpse of her swollen, glassy eyes. It was clear that she had been crying for some time now.

She climbed over the end of the bed, crawling in between Alice and I before snuggling herself under the covers. I turned around, wrapping my arms around her slim waist. She rested her cheek on top of my head. I could have sworn that I felt a tear drop or two land in my hair part.

"She's going to be okay, right?" I whispered after a few minutes. Neither of the girls were breathing heavy, so I knew that they were still wide awake too.

"I think she's going to be," Lily finally answered following a long pause. I couldn't tell if she was lying to appease me or if she really felt that way, but I appreciated her gesture all the same.

Alice sat up, propping herself up on her elbow. She scanned over my tear-stained face for a moment before throwing her legs out of the bed and padding over to her own. Both Lily and I lifted our heads off the pillows, furrowing our brows toward Alice in confusion.

She rustled through her bedside stand, before fidgeting with something in her hands for a moment. "I was going to wait to tell you," she started, slowly turning around, "Because I wanted Mary here too. But, considering the circumstances…" She flashed her left hand toward us, where a small, but beautiful diamond ring was placed delicately on her left ring finger.

Lily squealed in surprise, launching herself out of the bed before grabbing a hold of Alice's hand, her eyebrows raised with excitement. "Alice! How could you keep this from us? How? When? Wh-"

Alice cut off Lily with a giggle, slowly withdrawing her hand so she could fidget with the ring on her finger. "Frank asked me after the attack. He said he had been carrying the ring around for ages, but hadn't mustered up the guts to pop the question yet." She paused, sighing in contentment. "He said that the attack really put it in check for him. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, so he asked right after…right after…" Tears filled her round, brown eyes once again before she placed her palms over her eyes and let out a wracking sob.

"I just feel so guilty!" she started again. Her shoulders shook with the force of the sobbing. I crawled out of bed, placing an arm gently around her shoulders while Lily rubbed her back soothingly. "I want to be happy, I want to be ecstatic that Frank asked me, but…" She paused again, shaking her head. "Mary is in the hospital. She was attacked in broad daylight! She may not live-" As the words tumbled out of her mouth, my own eyes started filling up with tears. "And all I want to do is jump for joy and scream my happiness from the rooftops." She turned to look at me, her eyes rimmed with red. "Does that make me a bad friend? Does that make me a terrible person?"

"Oh Alice-"

"Don't think that-"

"She would be so happy for you-"

"I can't believe you would ever think that!"

I wrapped my arms around my best friend's waist, pulling her close to me. "Mary would be so excited for you, Alice. You know that. And she would also say you're being so silly for ever thinking that you couldn't be happy for yourself."

"Haley is right," Lily chipped in, now wrapping an arm around Alice's shoulders. "Mary will recover and be just fine. Then you can tell her the great news. But for now, we'll just keep Mary in our constant thoughts and plan our revenge on the death eaters that did this."

Alice and I chuckled at the intensity of Lily's mini-speech. I felt Alice sigh once again before she held out her left hand so we could all marvel at the ring Frank had purchased for her.

"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Alice asked, tilting her head to the side to look at it from a different angle.

I nodded my head in agreement. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lily do the same. As the three of us settled back into bed, or shall I say into Mary's bed, it took me quite awhile to get comfortable. Not only was Lily's elbow nestled into the middle of my back, but I couldn't help but think about our other best friend Mary. How she was in the hospital.

How Lily was now engaged to James of all people. How she was following his footsteps into the Order.

How Alice was now engaged to the love of her life. How she was going to fulfill her life-long dream of becoming an auror.

Then there was me. I had Sirius, of course, but what we were exactly…I couldn't say. I couldn't even begin to explain what I wanted us to be, because I knew that would never happen. We were too different…living two different lives in two different worlds.

Even though I knew that, even though I knew the possibility of becoming Mrs. Sirius Black was slim to none, I entertained the idea as I tossed and turned, finally falling asleep just as the sunlight began to peak through the gaps in the trees.

…

Something wet was on my hand. Petting it over and over, leaving a slobbery trail across the back of it. I cringed, withdrawing my hand slightly into the blanket, but the licking only continued after a few moments pause.

"Lily," I groaned, turning onto my side to pat her on the head, "Lily…quit licking my hand."

Lily lifted her head, her dark red hair splayed out over the pillow she had been sharing with Alice. "What are you talking about?" she grumbled, letting her head fall back onto the soft mattress. "I wouldn't lick your hand. That's gross."

I opened my eyes, squinting against the bright, spring sunlight. "Ugh, Alice, you're so-"

"It wasn't me either," she mumbled from the other side of the bed, stuffing her head under the pillow to block out any more sleep interruptions.

I furrowed my brow, confused, as I opened my eyes a bit more. I slowly turned my head to the right. If it wasn't Lily and it wasn't Alice…

Staring back at me was a black, furry face with a pair of gray eyes that I knew so well. Though I wasn't expecting them in that fashion quite so early in the morning. So I did the only thing I knew how to do.

"AAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!" I yelped, jumping over Lily and body slamming Alice in my attempt to make it over the bed. The noise and the movement was enough to get the other two girls moving. Lily snapped her head up before letting out another scream that matched mine when she realized who (or for her- what) was standing at the edge of the bed.

"Oh Merlin, it's the grim!" Lily said in a panicky voice, wrapping herself in a duvet covered burrito and rolling over Alice and off the bed. "Please, just leave. I promise, I won't put any more itch powder in Petunia's sock drawer. I'll stop feeding the cat peas when I don't want to eat them! And I swear I'll-"

"LILY!" I laughed, finally cutting her off before she spilled even more secrets. Alice was on the verge of wetting herself from laughter, as she had seen Sirius in his other form only a few months previously. "It's not the grim." I turned to the dog, a wide smile on my face. "Okay, Sirius you can stop joking around now."

The dog just sat on the other end of the bed, panting while staring at us with an eerily human gaze.

"Really, Sirius. Turn back now."

But the dog continued to sit there, staring at us with its gray eyes. My heart beat started to pick up as the smile slid off my lips.

"Erm-" Alice said timidly, throwing her legs off the bed and padding quietly to the other end of the room. "Are we quite sure that's Sirius? What if it was the grim?"

The dog looked as for a second longer before wagging its tail and letting out a wheezy bark before turning back into the prankster boy we all knew and loved. He was howling with laughter, rolling on the floor while clutching at his stomach. "You…thought…I…was…the…grim…." He managed to sputter out between cackles. "The…look…on…your…fa-…-ces…"

Alice marched over and picked up a pillow, chucking it as hard as she could at the boy on the floor. "That was not funny, Sirius Black. You nearly scared us to death." She paused, surveying him with a cocked eyebrow. "And how did you get up here anyways? The stairs aren't supposed to let up boys-"

"Forget the stairs," Lily said in awe, as if she was now seeing Sirius through a different light, "how the hell did you just turn into a big, shaggy dog?"

Sirius pushed himself up off the ground, still trying to catch his breath from his laughter. "Animagus, Lily. You should ask your boyfriend what he can turn into." He turned away from Lily and glanced at Alice. "And the stairs only recognize human boys. How do you think I've been getting into your dorm to steal Haley's underwear?" He finally turned his gaze onto me, winking as he settled his eyes into mine. "Well, hello Haley." He dragged his eyes across my body, which was only clad in shorts and a tank top for sleeping. I wrapped my arms across my chest, trying to keep any decency and dignity I had left. "You taste even better than I expected."

"Oh gross, Sirius Black-"

"Grow up already-"

"You are disgusting. Get out of here-"

He only sent me another wink, causing a fierce blush to rise up in my cheeks, before lumbering toward the door, opening it with a quick turn of his wrist. "I was sent up here to make sure you three were up. James has a plan for us." He paused for a second, scrapping his eyes across the three of us. "I would have come up here earlier if I had known you three would be in the same bed. What was all the squealing we heard last night? Would I have wanted to join in?"

Lily rolled her eyes, sending him a disgusted look, but Alice merely held up her left hand, her diamond ring glittering against the morning sunlight. "I just told them that Frank asked me to marry him."

Sirius made a noise of indignation at the back of his throat, clearly disappointed by the lack of action that he had expected. "You can keep that celebration to yourself." He paused again, right before he closed the door. "Though, congratulations Alice. I'm sure you'll make Frank a very happy man."

It was Alice's turn to roll her eyes.

An hour later we were settled in the Great Hall, where breakfast had just started to pick up. Most of the tables were already more than half full with more students pouring in as they started their Sunday early. I yawned widely, silently cursing Sirius for waking us up so early.

"What are we even doing here?" Alice asked, rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands. "We should be sleeping-"

"You got that right," Lily interjected, taking after me by yawning widely herself. I could see past her blasé attitude though. She had questioned us nearly the entire time we were getting ready about the boys changing into Animagus and how they learned to do it. We deflected all of her questions, settling into the reasoning that James had wanted to tell her himself.

"So it's not dinner and it's not particularly busy," Sirius said, settling himself across from us at the Gryffindor table. James threw himself onto the table between two golden plates, snatching a slice of bacon from a pile nearest to him. Peter and Remus followed Sirius by sitting delicately on the bench next to him. "But I, Sirius Black, challenge you, Haley Brams, to a game of Exploding Snaps."

My face fell as I looked into his gray eyes, which were dancing with laughter. I managed to hide my blush and clear my throat, though I felt that a hot coal had been stuffed down there from the lack of words that wanted to come out of my mouth. "You dragged me out of bed to play a game of Exploding Snaps?" I pushed myself off the bench, fully intending to go back to bed, but Sirius quickly stood and grabbed my arm.

"One game," he said simply, "one game and I'll check you off. I won't even bother you the rest of the day."

A Sirius free day? My heart sunk at the thought, but I slowly sat down across from him anyways, dumping my book bag at my feet. He did, after all, go through the trouble of dragging us out of bed.

"Atta girl," he winked at me, spreading the cards flat across the wooden table. They were already starting to smolder- never a good sign. James, who was clearly the referee, took out his wand to use it as a starting gun.

"Now I want a fair, clean game," he said, mimicking Madame Pooch's nasally voice, "from all of you." He threw his wand in the air, where a loud bang issued from the end of it. And we were off to the races.

I easily matched a few of the cards, having paid close enough attention to the edges from when Sirius challenged Remus or Peter in the common room, but he was right on my tail. I frantically began to match more and more cards as they smoldered dangerously underneath my wand.

"Come on, Sirius-"

"You can beat him Haley!"

"Show him whose boss-"

"You can't get beat by a girl-"

"You're supposed to be neutral, James!"

I matched a final pair, throwing my wand down on the table just as the stack of cards exploded, singing the ends of my blonde hair and nearly taking off Sirius's eyebrows. It was clear who the winner was. I sat back in my seat, my arms crossed over my chest as a smirk settled on my lips.

"Oh, I just let you win," Sirius grumbled as he signed the list, tossing it over to me. I caught it clumsily in my hands before tucking it into my book bag.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Black," I threw back flirtily, sending him a wink. "Whatever you say."

I sauntered out of the Great Hall after hitching my bag onto my shoulders, not wanting to seem too smug around Sirius, as he was usually a sore loser.

That, and Professor McGonagall was using the noise we created as a distraction to other students and had issued him yet another detention.


	32. Chapter 32

**Hello everyone! So glad to be back on a regular updating schedule.  
We've been through quite a few chapters together and I just wanted to remind you that this fic is going to be LONG. As in like 80-90 chapters long. As in from the beginning of seventh year to just after Lily and James's death long.**

**I wanted to try my hand at a really involved fic and I do hope you stick with me through it. That being said, I can absolutely promise that the romance aspect of it between Sirius and Haley will not take that long. It's actually coming up.**

**But I won't give away anymore!**

**Also, some of you may have noticed that I changed the cover picture for the series. It was edited by SOMMIEROCKETS and sent to me and I think she did an AMAZING job on it! Give her a shout out (and if you haven't seen it, go check it out!), because I think she hit the nail right on the head!**

**Please make sure to leave a review on your way out, just to let me know how you think it's going!  
Read and enjoy!**

May came, bringing with it the shining sun that swept away any residual rain from the spring. Summer was officially on its way, which meant one thing.

The second interview with the Ministry of Magic was well on its way.

I spent most of the weekdays in the library, all my books spread out in front of me in an attempt to study for the NEWT exams, but all I could think about was Jacques DuChamps and the upcoming appointment in Paris. What would happen if I didn't get in? What the hell would I do?

Sirius, who had been cool and collected about the whole thing (surprise, surprise), spent most of his days next to me in the library, not bothering to study, but trying to calm my fears like it was his full time job.

"Brams, you're getting yourself all worked up again," he said for the hundredth time that week, pushing a goblet of butterbeer toward me. I glanced nervously around the library knowing that Madam Pince could be lurking around any corner, especially since Sirius Black was sitting directly next to me.

I finally sighed and relented, grabbing the goblet and taking a massive gulp. The smooth liquid slid down my throat and before I knew it, I had finished the entire drink. I set down the cup on the wooden table before shrugging at Sirius, who was staring at me with an incredulous look. "What?"

"I think that was the first un-lady like thing I've ever seen you do." He paused, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "I'm so proud of you."

"Oh you stop that, Sirius Black, you're-"

Unluckily, just as I started to raise my voice, Madam Pince wandered around the corner, her eyes squinted dangerously over the rim of her glasses. "Talking in the library is not- what is that?" She pointed a gnarled finger at the goblet, which was sitting in front of me and not Sirius.

Sirius, who saw this fortunate turn of luck for him, sat back with his hands behind his head. "I told her not to bring it in here, Madam Pince, I told her that you wouldn't like it."

"Get out! Get out of my library!" she shrieked, making me jump in surprise. Sirius let out a genuine laugh at my reaction, easily sliding out of his chair as I frantically shoved my books in my book bag as she continued to make a scene. "And don't come back until you've learned your manners!" She took a deep breath, most likely to fill her lungs with more air as which to yell at me with. "I would expect this behavior from Black, but not from you!"

Sirius placed a hand over his heart, contorting his face into one of faux grief. "Madam Pince, I'm shocked that you would say such a thing-"

"OUT!"

I scampered from the library, a fierce blush rising in my face as a few of the other students surrounding me chuckled at the scene. I threw open the door, not bothering to hold it for Sirius, who was taking his time leaving the library just to work Madam Pince up even more.

"I can't believe you just got me kicked out of the library!" I exclaimed as he caught up to my brisk pace, easily overtaking my stride. "I've never in my life-"

"Too bad it wasn't a thing on the list," he said, unrolling the scroll and consulting it as if it were a very important legal document. "Such a shame."

I turned to him, jabbing my finger into his firm chest. At the slightest touch, I could have sworn I felt his heart beat quicken and his breath hitch in his throat, but that could just have been my wild imagination. Or maybe I was confusing my own reaction with his, as his close proximity certainly had my blood pumping a little faster than it normally would. "You did that on purpose!"

He contorted his face, once again, into a look of grieving shock. "I cannot believe that you would think I would get you kicked out of the library." He placed his hands on my shoulders, causing my heart to ram dangerously against my rib cage. "I can't believe that you, one of my best friends who has been studying way to much these past few days even though it's such a nice day outside, would think that I would ever think of doing such a dreadful act." He paused, placing an index finger to his lips, as if he were pondering an imperative thought. "What if you fail?"

I shrugged his hands off my shoulders, rolling my eyes. "Oh, come off it, Sirius Black."

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, leading me down the hallway. "Well, I did have an ulterior motive. It seems that you've been holding out on us, Brams."

I furrowed my brow, looking up at him in confusion. "Holding out?"

He nodded, turning down a hallway to his left and leading me up a narrow staircase. "It seems that your father set up a job interview for you…for today…and you didn't even tell us."

"You opened my mail?" I said shrilly, knowing full well that was the only way he could have known. I wasn't going to mention the interview for this reason exactly. "That's a federal offense, I'll have you know-"

Sirius brushed me off, shaking his head. "The owl must have opened it when he flew it over here. It was only a reminder letter anyways." He paused, looking down at me. "And don't change the subject. You know that you have to get checked off on it. Destroying an interview."

I shook my head. "This man is a good friend of my dad's. If I mess up this interview-"

"Then he'll only think you're off your rocker and it'll make for an awkward holiday party," he cut in, turning toward his right, where I saw James perched outside of Dumbledore's office, a cloak draped over his shoulder.

"Ohhhhh no," I said, trying to take a couple steps back, but Sirius's hand was planted firmly on my lower back, refusing to let me go anywhere. "I am not doing this interview with you two in the room. I wasn't even planning on going to it-"

"It's either this one or the law interview," James joined in, placing his arm around my shoulders so there was absolutely no where else I could go. "And, according to your dad's letter-" He pulled it out of his pocket, where the envelope had a neat tear line across the top.

"I thought you said the owl opened it," I turned my accusation toward Sirius, who raised his eyebrows. "I didn't realize owls had imposable thumbs."

"It was a talon," James replied, shaking the letter open with one hand, "besides, you only have five minutes until this interview is supposed to start. We wouldn't want you to be- acid pops- fashionably late. It doesn't look good if you wanted the job."

I glared up at Sirius, who was remaining tight lipped about the whole ordeal. "The butterbeer in the library? You seriously had an ulterior motive for that too?" I paused, furrowing my brow. "And here I was thinking you were just being a nice guy. Oh, how I was deceived."

"Sticks and stones, love," Sirius shot back with a wink, pushing me onto the spiral staircase that had opened up behind the stone gargoyle. "That still won't get you out of this."

"How did you guys know where this even was?" I hissed, just as we reached the top. The two boys slipped under the cloak, but not before responding to my question.

"You're talking to Sirius Black and James Potter," James said, just as his head disappeared underneath the fabric, officially making him invisible. "Do you even need to ask?"

I rolled my eyes turning around to face the door, raising my fist to knock gently on the thick wood. The door opened a couple of inches, revealing the office of Professor Dumbledore. I never had the opportunity to visit his office before, as I'm sure Sirius and James had, though the amount of magical instruments and books that surrounded the circular room certainly didn't surprise me.

The room just felt like Professor Dumbledore.

"Ah, here she is, the lady of the hour," Dumbledore exclaimed as he rose gracefully from behind his desk, his amber robes billowing out majestically behind him. "I was afraid you had forgotten about your interview for this afternoon, Haley. Mr. Abbel has so graciously flown in from his office in London to meet with you."

"I apologize for my delay," I responded politely, shaking Mr. Abbel's hand. "I had only just received the letter from my father a few minutes before I came up here." Professor Dumbledore arced around me, shutting the large wooden door with a small snap.

I could have sworn that his eyes lingered over the spot Sirius and James were hovered behind me. His eyes twinkled mischievously as he placed his fingertips together and gracefully ascended the staircase at the back of the office. "I trust that you two will be okay in here while I get something to eat. I have had a hankering for sugar quills for quite a few days." He bowed his head, his gray beard barely brushing his abdomen, before shutting his private room door behind him.

Mr. Abbel turned to me, gesturing for me to sit down across from him. I obliged, settling into the plushy armchair on the other side of the desk. "I've heard quite a few good things about you, not only from your father, but also from your professors as well."

"You've already spoken with my professors?"

He nodded his head, helping himself to the lemon drop jar that was perched on the edge of the old, wooden desk. He popped it in his mouth, sucking on it for a moment before continuing on. "We at the Department of Misuse Muggle Artifacts always like to, erm, fact check before we come to an interview. We can't completely trust the word of our interviewees father!" He let out an embarrassing snort, as if what he had said was the funniest thing he had said all day.

From behind me, I heard a chuckle that was clearly turned into a cough. I quickly put my hand up to my mouth, developing a very loud and very fake hacking cough. "Wow, excuse me, my allergies must be acting up.

Mr. Abbel gave me a toothy grin, peering at me over his thick, black rimmed spectacles. "You have excellent grades, you have the best reviews from your professors." He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. "So tell me a little bit about Haley Brams."

I cleared my throat, straightening up in my seat. "Well, I spend most of my time with my school books. I thoroughly enjoy reading and studying. I have a very large interest in magical law and-"

"That's boring. Give him more," I heard someone, probably Sirius, hiss from behind me. I stuttered a bit, losing my train of thought. Though, I knew he was right. Both Sirius and James would never check me off on something if I didn't give it my all.

I took a deep breath, my heart pattering in my chest. "And in my free time you can find me fighting off the wild Forbidden Forest bears that come out at night and terrorize Hogsmeade." I paused, tapping my lip. "Though you may also find me taste testing mint chocolate chip ice cream whenever and wherever humanly possible." I looked back at him and shrugged. "It's just really good stuff."

Mr. Abbel sent me an odd expression before shaking his head and changing the subject. "I see that you're currently being pursued by the likes of Jacques DuChamps in Paris." He paused, tapping his fingers on the desk. "Let me be quite frank with you, Haley. We are incredibly interested in having a young, intelligent girl such as yourself join our team. What can we do to convince you to stay?"

I pondered the question for a moment, turning back to him with a cheery shrug. "Nothing that I can really think of. If Mr. DuChamps offers me the position, I'm going to take it. Unless…" I trailed off, leaving Mr. Abbel on the edge of his seat. "Well, you probably wouldn't be interested in that nonsense anyways."

He placed a patient smile on his lips, gesturing for me to continue. "Try me."

I took a deep breath, racking my brain for some off the wall demands. "I want red candy to be displayed on my desk at all times."

"Red candy?" Mr. Abbel asked, cocking an eyebrow as if he were on the outside of a very funny joke. "Just red candy?"

I nodded briskly, a bright smile plastered on my face. "Red candy. I don't want to eat it, I just want it displayed. It has such a magical way of lighting up a room, don't you think?"

He hesitantly picked up a quill and paused at pad of parchment in front of him. He was clearly waiting to see if I would tell him I was kidding, but when I didn't he went ahead and scratched the note down. "Red candy it is. Anything else?"

I tapped my lip for a moment. "I want a pet hippogriff."

Instead of cocking one eyebrow, this time both of Mr. Abbel's eyebrows shot dangerously close to his hairline. His jaw dropped open slightly and he was looking at me as if I had gone mad.

Maybe I had. Just a little bit.

Behind me, I heard one of the boys snort with laughter and I quickly turned into a raging coughing maniac, just like a few minutes previously. "Whew, those allergies are just coming out this year, aren't they?" I said earnestly, slapping my chest a few times.

Mr. Abbel quietly closed his notes and set down the quill next to the bottle of ink on the other side of the desk. "Well, Ms Brams, it was very- erm- nice to meet you." He rose to his feet, placing both palms on the old desk, as if he were slowly pushing himself up. "We will be in touch."

I shot up, stumbling awkwardly before lurching forward to shake his hand. "I'll be so excited to hear about the job offer. Please, contact me soon!" I spun on my heel, marching out of the office confidently. I could hear James and Sirius shuffling to keep up with me, trying quite hard to keep themselves invisible all the same.

I debated about rushing up to the door and locking them in there, but I decided against it. Knowing my luck, both of the boys would refuse to sign off on the checklist, making the whole thing not only void, but a major waste of my time.

I didn't bother waiting for them to untangle themselves from the cloak; I kept on walking back to the library, fully anticipating a major groveling session to Madam Pince in order to get my table back. I merely left the checklist suspended in mid air near the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office, hoping that at least one of the boys (or possibly a painting or the gargoyle that guarded the entrance) would get the hint to sign it.

…..

The next week was filled with exciting moments, as Mary came strolling through the double doors of the castle during lunch just a few hours after the final quidditch match of the season. She had made a full recovery, with only a couple scars on her arms that she kept as proof of the attack.

Sirius and James both called out in surprise as she bustled through a crowd of second years, eager to rejoin our group for the first time in weeks. She threw her arms around my neck, pulling me into a tight hug before moving onto Alice and then Lily.

"Oh, Merlin, the food was so _awful,"_ she complained, grabbing a plate and taking a handful of sandwiches and chips, loading the golden plate up as high as she could. "It was gross and mushy- you could barely tell what it was." She paused to take a bite, making a satisfied noise from the back of her throat. "That hits the spot." She turned to the three of us, an expectant expression on her face. "Well, I know something happened while I was gone, by the way you three are shaking like anxious Chihuahuas. Spill."

Alice pushed past me, shoving her left hand into Mary's face. "I got engaged!" she squealed, finally able to completely rejoice in the fact that Frank had asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. Sirius leaned over the table, fake vomiting onto the stone floor.

Mary grabbed her hand, forcing Alice to hold it still while she inspected it thoroughly. Mary glanced back up to Alice with a wide grin on her face. She abandoned the sandwiches, which happened to disappear , as lunch had officially ended, and threw her arms around Alice's neck once again.

"Alice! That is the greatest news I've heard in weeks! Tell me all about it. Don't leave out a single detail!"

"Actually," Sirius butt in, leaning over me in attempt to be acknowledged instead of Alice, "that story is kind of boring. He asked, she said yes, end of story." Alice scoffed at him, mimicking him playfully as he continued talking. "What you really want to hear about is how we beat those Slytherin snakes, no pun intended, and claimed the quidditch cup!" He said the last few words louder than the rest, causing the rest of the Gryffindor table to break out into cheers.

He stole a chip off my plate as Mary let out a trill of laughter.

I glanced over at one of my best friends, so glad that she was back and alright. She was quite a bit skinnier than the last time I saw her, but that was probably due to being in a coma for a couple of weeks. I would take her back, skinny or not skinny. I threw an arm around her shoulder, squeezing her into my side. She returned the awkward, half-hug joyfully.

"Let's get back to the common room," she suggested, abandoning the food she had just piled on her plate, "I'm not really that hungry and I've had a hankering for laying on the couch in front of the fireplace for a couple of days now."

James gazed longingly back at his unfinished chicken, but relented and followed us toward the hallway, mostly because Lily was escorting Mary out as well. Both he and Sirius shouldered their brooms, waving to the many students that were clapping and cheering as the two most famous Gryffindor quidditch players left the hall.

"You had to be there, Mary," James said excitedly, placing his broom on the opposite shoulder as he squeezed onto the staircase right behind Sirius and I, "The skies were too sunny, the wind was blowing too hard, but we managed to pull off the victory. Just for-"

But James didn't get to finish his sentence, as a few of the Slytherin quidditch players decided to have the last say. They leaned over the banister on the second floor, raining curses down on us, though they were probably aimed for Sirius and James. We just so happened to be in the way.

Mary and I screamed, dropping flat to the marble stairs. Alice hovered over us, shooting curses toward the second floor with Sirius, but the culprits were already gone.

"What cowards," she mumbled, frustrated, "couldn't even stick around to- oh God, James, are you okay?"

I whipped around, my jaw dropping in horror as I spotted James collapsed against the handrail, clutching his side with his left hand, which was slowly starting to seep blood. First Mary and now this? We would be lucky to make it out of seventh year alive at this rate.

"He has to go to the hospital wing!"Lily cried out, her voice shaking with fear and anger. "Madam Pomfrey can fix him up tight."

Sirius pushed his way through the small crowd that had gathered on the stairs to watch the duel, snaking his arm around James's waist to help him stand up properly. James winced in pain, but didn't cry out or yell at Sirius, which is exactly what I would have done if I were in his shoes. He glanced around, skirting the floor with his gaze.

"My broom! Where is my broom?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "He's bleeding out and the only thing he is worried about is his broom? Typical."

A second year timidly tugged on the back of my shirt. I glanced over my shoulder, my eyebrows raised in surprise. "A Slytherin took it," she said quietly, "One of the boys. I saw him run away as you guys noticed that boy hurt." She furrowed her brow, looking over at James with general interest. "Is he going to be okay?"

I didn't answer, because James was already hollering out of anger. "Those damn Slytherins! They swiped my broom!" He exclaimed as he hobbled up the stairs, fighting with Sirius and Lily the entire way. "I can't believe those dirty-" Luckily he was cut off by them turning the corner just in time.

Alice glanced over at me, her eyebrow cocked in question. "What's that face for? You look like you have an idea."

I smirked slightly and shook my head, but scuttled down the stairs anyways.

"Hey!" Alice yelled as I marched away from her. I heard her sigh in frustration. "Now what are we going to do?"

But I was on a mission. I followed a group of third year Slytherins down the hallway, mostly because I had no idea where their common room was, and into the dungeon. Our footsteps bounced off the stone lined walls, giving it an eerie underground feeling.

Water dripped from the ceiling. _Pit pat pit pat. _I managed to jump over a few puddles that had gathered in the cracks and crevices of the old floor. Another group of Slytherins, a few feet ahead of the group I was following, murmured a password and the stone wall slid open, revealing the common room.

I slipped in behind the small Slytherins, staying as close to the wall as I possibly could. The common room was underground, just as I had expected, except that it seemed to be more under the lake than anything. Large windows showed a glimpse of the lake. Fish and other creatures darted past the glass. The water cast an eerie green glow on the common room.

The common room wasn't warm and inviting like the Gryffindor common room was. The floors were cold stone with only a few rugs thrown in random spots throughout the room. Hard, black couches and armchairs were scattered all over. Students had flung themselves into them, leaving the first and second years to sit on the uncomfortable floor.

The Slytherins didn't seem to mind the unfriendliness of it.

I wasn't surprised. Leave it to the Slytherins to have the creepiest room in the castle as their living quarters.

My eyes darted around the common room, stopping on a group of older students near the fireplace. They were laughing over something, but the broom (James's broom) was perched just on the outside of the circle.

It was clear that they were making fun of the whole affair, as one of them rather cruelly mimicked James being hit in the side by the curse.

I crept over, staying as silent as I could so I wouldn't draw attention to myself. It seemed to work, only fueling my belief that I was still invisible to everyone, even though I was good friends with the Marauders now.

My fingers closed around the broom handle and I shot back toward the common room entrance, this time not bothering to be stealthy and quiet.

"HEY! STOP HER!" Someone yelled from their perch by the fireplace, but it was too late. I had successfully made it outside the common room just as someone tossed a jinx toward me and my sneakers were already pounding loudly against the stone floor.

I had swiped back James's broom, from the Slytherin common room no less. I felt the victory throbbing through my palms as I skittered back up the stairs and toward the Gryffindor tower, not wanting to wait to celebrate my latest achievement.


	33. Chapter 33

**Why hello everyone! It's great to have another chapter out.  
I don't really have any other news for you, so please keep the wonderful reviews coming! I absolutely love all of them.**

**As always, read and enjoy!**

"This is your last chance," I heard Remus mumble as I gathered my books, readying myself for the last detention of seventh year. Unfortunately for Sirius, he had quite a few more he had to serve with James before graduation, but I was happy to say that I was done.

Lily had cocked an eyebrow, glancing questioningly at James. He merely smirked, shaking his head slowly. She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Don't you think I know that, Moony?" Sirius growled through his teeth, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "Don't you think I haven't thought about-"

The clock struck eight, the bell ringing loudly across the grounds. I could hear the echo as it bounced off the woods. A few birds scattered into the air, frightened of the noise.

Sirius snapped his eyes over to me, meeting mine momentarily. He sighed, shoving his own books into his backpack unceremoniously before tossing the bag over his shoulder.

"Last chance, Padfoot," Remus repeated, casually placing his hands at the back of his head. This was the most at ease I had ever seen Remus before. Though, he wasn't like most people, that Remus. The closer it got to exams, the calmer he seemed to get.

Much different than about 99% of the student population.

"Don't blow it."

Sirius threw a glare over his shoulder before placing an arm across mine, effectively steering me from the common room. "Come on, Brams, let's get this over with, shall we?"

…..

Something felt different as Sirius and I left our very last detention. It felt as if a static current was running straight through us. I couldn't speak to him, as every time I thought about it my cheeks would automatically flare up.

I was incredibly aware of his body moving next to mine, how his arms swayed casually at his sides. I wasn't quite sure where to put mine; first stuffing my hands in my pockets and then folding my arms across my chest, before finally letting them hang at my sides as well.

Though I was absolutely sure it made me look more dorky than cool.

Sirius was uncharacteristically quiet as well, as he had been through the whole detention.

Correction, he was quite talkative until I mentioned my meeting with Jacques DuChamps that was scheduled for the next day. That effectively shut him up, much to my dismay.

I took a deep breath in and blew out my cheeks, racking my brains for how to pull myself out of the awkward situation I had put myself in. We were just about to turn the corner into the hallway that led back to the common room when Sirius grasped my arm gently in the crook of my elbow, pulling me back slightly.

"Sirius, what-"

But before I could even finish my sentence, his lips were on mine. It took me a moment to realize what was going on, followed by another moment of sheer panic that Sirius Black was actually kissing me, before I remembered that I was supposed to actually respond.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him as close as possible to me. He took a few steps forward, forcing my back against the cold, stone wall.

Though, at this point, it could have been a glacier for all I cared.

He parted his lips, nearly begging for permission before I obliged and the kiss suddenly turned fiery.

His hands were on my hips, his fingers hooking in the belt loops of my pants, pulling my lower half closer to him. Closer than I had ever thought I could get to another human being.

He ran one hand up my side, keeping the other firmly locked on my hip, grasping at the crook of my neck, my cheek, running through my blonde curls.

We could have been there for minutes, hours, days. I wouldn't have known the difference.

But as he pulled away, the two of us breathing heavy, I wasn't ready for him to stop. I could have kissed Sirius like that for another 20 years and I wouldn't have been ready to stop.

"Sirius, what-" I repeated, but he quickly cut me off by placing his index finger over my lips.

"I-I have to get this out," he said quickly, running his fingers through his shaggy hair. I had never seen Sirius this flustered, never seen him so bent out of shape. It was clear that he was struggling to find words. He turned back to look at me, his gray eyes piercing my brown ones. "Haley, I think I'm in love with you."

The underside of my chin probably scrapped the floor, though I was in complete shock, so it's hard for me to remember the details. He quickly clamped his eyes shut, shaking his head erratically. "Oh, Merlin, this is so…I don't think I'm in love with you. I know I'm in love with you." He opened his eyes, staring down at me once again. "Haley Brams, I am madly in love with you. I have been since the moment you nearly got me killed by Remus Lupin."

I stayed quiet for a moment, still processing the information that was just thrown at me. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, unsure of how to respond.

Sirius's face, for the first time I had ever witnessed, flushed a dull pink as he began to backtrack. "Oh, oh, I see. You don't feel the same way. I'll just- ah- I'll just-"

He started to take a few steps back, but before my brain could connect properly with my limbs, I had already dramatically lunged forward, grabbing his lower arm before pulling him down to meet my lips once again.

It seemed it was his turn to be rather taken aback, but he came around quicker than I did, this time his response was much different than I had expected, especially considering his start to the conversation. He flew back quite a few feet, running his hands through his shaggy, black hair. "What am I doing? What am I DOING? I'm so sorry, Haley, I can't do this."

I wrinkled my brow in confusion, my cheeks that were so flushed only moments before had drained completely. The feeling of solid rejection had started to set into the pit of my stomach, sitting there as if it were a very large rock. "Wh-what do you mean?"

He shook his head, his gray eyes shining with pain and anger. "I shouldn't have said anything. I'm so sorry. You're going to Paris in a couple of weeks and I'm staying here-"

"We could make it work, Sirius," I argued, taking a step toward him, "we could see each other on the weekends, on holidays. It would be fine-"

His eyes widened, as if what I said had deeply frightened him. The sting of rejection only grew more painful. "Oh no, Brams, oh no. I am not ready for a long-distance relationship." He threw up his hands, waving them back and forth as if trying to clear away the air between us. "I feel crazy for telling you how I feel, but this could never work, Brams, you and me. The fact that I even want a long-term relationship with you is crazy. I feel crazy." He took a deep breath, shaking his head. "But I'm afraid, Haley. I'm afraid that we will walk out of this hallway the same best friends we have been all year and I will never find someone else that makes me feel the way that you make me feel." He paused, raking his gaze over my features. "But we're going to be living in two different countries and living two separate lives. I should have said something earlier. I wish you weren't going to Paris. We could have had all year, all our lives to-"

"To do what?" I challenged him, placing my hands on my hips in defiance. I had already passed the stage of grieving for our "relationship." Now I was just angry. "To have the year together so you could make me fall in love with you and then you would just break up with me?" The tears welled up in my eyes, which only fueled my anger more. I hated that he was going to see me cry. I felt as if it were a weakness pouring out of me. "The only reason you're saying this now is because you get a cop out. You are so afraid of commitment and making a change that you're- you're hiding behind this fake tough act." I took a deep breath, hiding a sob that had threatened to bubble up. "You're just scared that you'll get hurt, scared that something will happen."

I stopped, waiting for me to respond. But you know what he did? He merely looked at me in surprise before turning on his heels and walking away. He didn't even bother looking back.

I spent all that time hoping that he would say those words to me- that he loved me, that he wanted to be with me. As I leaned against the stone wall, letting the wracking sobs overtake me, I wished nothing but to turn back time and make myself forget all of those things that he said.

Because nothing was worse than hearing those things, but still not getting the guy.

…

Despite the fact that my heart was broken and I'm fairly certain my eyes were swelled shut from crying, I still managed to floo out to Paris the following morning for my appointment with Jacques DuChamps.

My hair looked like I had been harboring a crow's nest and, only thanks to Lily and Alice, was I wearing a set of dress clothes that were not wrinkled from sitting at the bottom of my trunk.

I barely said a word as I made my way through the streets of Paris, no longer oogling the beautiful buildings and cobblestone scenery around me. I didn't even want to look up at it, for it reminded me of the last time I was here, which reminded me of Sirius, which reminded me of our conversation from the night before.

At that point, I would nearly succumb to the tears that were constantly threatening to bubble up, but I had managed to hold myself together this long.

I absolutely refused to cry right before my final interview.

As soon as I entered the Department of Law Enforcement, a lanky brunette ushered me into the backroom, where I recognized Jacques DuChamps office. He was seated behind his desk, his hands folded politely on the wooden frame. His smile reached his eyes as he stood up to shake my hand. "Ah, eet ees Haley Brams. Very nice to meet you again. Thank you for coming." He gestured for me to take a seat, which I obliged almost instantly. My nerves were getting the best of me. "I theenk eet ees time that we had a leetle discussion about your future here with us."

Here it goes, the moment of truth.

"As you may know, we take our applicants very seriously here at ze French Ministry of Magic. We do not want just anybody-"

My weekend was already going horribly wrong. I could already tell that it was going to get worse.

"-zere is a very difficult selection which involves countless eenterviews and many different steps-"

My heart was pounding against my chest. Why can't he just tell me that I didn't get the position already?

"-So, eet ees my very distinct please to offer you the top spot at our Magical Law program here at ze French Ministry of Magic."

He looked at me expectedly, his blue eyes peering over his turtle shell spectacles. I shook my head, as if I were trying to clear my ears. "I'm so sorry, could you repeat that one more time?"

He let out a barky laugh, clutching his stomach. "You are een disbelief, no?" He cleared his throat, leaning forward to set his elbows on his desk. "We are very pleased to offer you ze top spot in our program. Your grades are excellent, your resume precedes you. You have only ze best recommendations. You will start two weeks after you graduate from Hogwarts. How does all zat sound?"

I should have been happy. I should have been ecstatic even. But I couldn't shake the feeling that something just didn't seem right.

Lily's wedding was only three weeks after graduation. I was supposed to stand as her maid of honor, but I would surely miss that. Alice's wedding was to be over the summer to, I would surely miss that.

I thought about all the wonderful friends I had made over the last year. All of the memories that bonded us together. The Marauders actually being animagus, save for Remus who was actually a werewolf.

Then there was Sirius. Sirius who saved me from Remus the werewolf, Sirius who brought me out of my shell, who introduced me to so many new things over this past year. I laughed with him, I cried with him. He became my best friend, then I fell in love with him.

And he with me. Sirius Black, THE Sirius Black, fell in love with me.

That's when I realized-

"I'm so sorry," I said suddenly, my mouth speaking before my brain could process. "I've been wanting and dreaming about this position every day for the past seven years." I stood from my perch on the end of the seat. "But…but I realized that…sometimes, sometimes other things are much more important than schooling. I feel like taking this position would be a very big mistake." I stuck out my hand. His hand slowly rose to meet mine, a dumbstruck expression on his face.

"Are you quite sure, Ms. Brams?" he said with raised eyebrows. "If you walk out zat door, ze opportunity goes with you."

I nodded my head firmly. "Thank you for the opportunity. I really do appreciate it. But, I'm needed elsewhere." I paused, a small smile appearing on my lips. "I have to go."

I spun on my heels, marching out of the office with a new, determined outlook on life. In a few weeks, maybe I would regret the decision to turn down the biggest opportunity of my life. But, I didn't think so.

My schooling may be over, my chance at being a hotshot lawyer for the best Magical Law program in the world may be over, but I knew that Sirius and I were not over. We were not even close to being over.

In fact, I knew that we had really only just begun.


	34. Chapter 34

**Why hello everyone! Hope you are all enjoying your summer!  
Here is another chapter to the Sirius and Haley series.  
Thank you SO MUCH for all the wonderful things you said about this story in the reviews. I love waking up every morning to find new things that you guys have said.**

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**As always, read and enjoy!**

I had taken the floo network back to school late that evening, the adrenaline coursing through my body at the thought of seeing Sirius. This time, I knew exactly what I wanted to say.

And I was NOT taking no for an answer.

I marched into the common room with the expectation of seeing the Marauders gathered around the fireplace planning their next move, especially since seventh year was coming to a close so quickly, but the only people I saw were Mary and Alice. Much to my disappointment (which still sounds quite awful).

I furrowed my brow, gesturing toward the boy's dormitory. "Where are James and Sirius? I thought they would have been down here with you."

Alice and Mary shot out of their armchairs, rushing toward me with excited expressions on their faces.

"Did you get it?"

"What did they say?"

"Do you have another interview?"

"You have to tell us!"

I laughed, pulling myself away from them. "My question first." I gestured toward the dormitory door once again. "Where are the Musketeers?"

"We prefer Marauders."

My heart shot into my throat, but fell back into my stomach when I whirled around and realized it was only Lily and James clambering through the portrait hole. Lily's hair was messy and James's lips were red and swollen, giving away everything they had been doing immediately. Though I didn't ask, because I knew they would both blush red and mutter something about head boy/girl duties.

Lily skipped over to me, throwing an arm happily around my shoulder as she ushered me toward the empty couch in front of the fireplace. She forced me down, taking my hands and setting them in her lap. "You have to tell me everything. Word for word."

"We've been trying to get her to tell us for minutes now," Mary said exasperatedly as she perched herself on the arm of the couch. "She keeps asking where the boys are."

"Oh, well James and I had head boy and girl duties," she rushed out with the telltale flush filling her cheeks. "And Sirius has holed himself up in the dorm since-" She wrinkled her nose, furrowing her brow deeply. "Well, since you left really. He seemed rather upset."

I blew out my cheeks. He had been upset. All day. Upset about ducking out of our conversation? Upset that he had let me go? Or was it on the other end of the spectrum? Was he regretting saying something to me about his feelings and was locking himself into his dorm until graduation?

"Haley? Earth to Haley?"

I shook my head, pulling myself out of my thoughts. "Wh- huh?"

Alice, leaning over the back of the couch, pulled my hair back behind my shoulders, separating down the middle at the top of my head. When she was getting ready for a serious conversation, she usually started braiding my blonde locks. This time was no different. Threading the strands through each other, she continued on, "Now, tell us all about the interview-"

"I even brought a bottle of firewhiskey back to celebrate!" James butt in, holding up the large bottle of alcohol with a large smile on his face. I grinned back at him, settling into the cushions of the couch.

"I guess I could start with the interview went very well and I got the position-"

Chaotic excitement exploded around me as Mary and Lily both leaned in to give me a hug, but merely conked each other's foreheads together. Alice squealed, pulling my hair back and forcing me deeper into the cushion of the couch. James was in the process of trying to break open the firewhiskey bottle and, considering that it seemed he had left his wand in his dormitory, had proceeded to bang the end of the bottle on the coffee table in front of us in hopes that the bottle would magically open.

Which it did. Except it was accompanied by tiny pieces of glass littering the floor and the liquid spilling out onto the maroon carpet of the common room. James groaned in response, smacking his palm up to his forehead. "That was the last bottle Rosmerta said she would sneak me, too."

"That's ALWAYS the last bottle Rosmerta is going to sneak you," Mary corrected him, still rubbing the spot on her forehead that had collided with Lily's. "You can just go get another bottle tomorrow I'm sure-"

"Anyways," Alice said loudly, cutting everyone off, "I propose a toast, even though we don't have anything to toast with-" She paused to throw a dark look toward James, who merely shrugged in response. She held up her hand as if an invisible glass were perched gently in the cup of it. "To Haley, who has finally followed her dreams and-"

"Stop, wait," I cut her off with a sigh, placing my hand on her arm and guiding it down into her lap. She looked at me in surprise. "I didn't take the position."

The room went silent for a moment. It was clear that everyone thought it was a big joke. Mary's mouth opened and closed as if she were a fish out of water. James and Lily just stared at me as if I had lost my marbles. Only Alice seemed to be cool and collected about the whole ordeal, nodding her head curtly.

"I figured you weren't going to."

"Oh, come on Alice, how could you say that?"

"You couldn't have known that!"

"I still think it's a joke."

"You are joking, right Haley?"

I shook my head slowly, letting the braids that Alice had just put in my hair fall out. "He offered me the position, asked if I was ready to take it." I shrugged slowly, turning to Lily. "I would have started just a week after school ended, so I would have missed your wedding." I tilted my head back, so I was looking straight up at Alice. "And I would have missed yours as well." I straightened myself out, playing with my hands in my lap. "I don't say this enough to you, but you all mean so much to me. This was the best year that I've had and I've grown so close to all of you. I wasn't, I'm not, ready to give that up yet. I want to see you get married, Lily and Alice, and I want to see the look on James's face when he sees Lily walking down the aisle-" The group chuckled- "And Sirius…and Sirius-"

Alice placed a hand on my shoulder. "Be honest with us, Haley, because we've been asking you all year and you've been completely denying it, even though we know you've been-"

"Oh Alice, just ask." Mary turned to me, her blue eyes shining with excitement. "Are you in love with Sirius?"

I tried to hide the smile that appeared on my face, but was completely unsuccessful. James let out a whooping shout followed by the cheers of applause from Lily, Alice, and Mary. I could feel the heat rising in my face, though I didn't know if it was from embarrassment or the fact that I had finally admitted it to my best friends.

"I'll go get Sirius," James said quickly, heading toward the stairs, "Maybe this'll get him to quit moping around-"

"NO!" The four of us shouted. Lily nearly fell over the back of the couch in her haste to grab the back of James's shirt.

"Whoa, whoa, girls, calm down," James said as he straightened himself out, throwing looks of concern over to his fiancée. "I was just trying to help. He's been in a state all day, you know-"

"It's been a long day," Alice started, locking her gaze with James's, "for all of us. Haley just turned down her dream job. She needs time to process and we need time to plan. You can't just spring this on him so late at night-"

"I agree," Lily jumped in, nodding her head, "Don't say anything to Sirius. Let's get through the night and tackle this plan in the morning."

I shifted my gaze around the common room, many different emotions rising up in me. I was, of course, incredibly disappointed in myself that I had turned down the opportunity to continue my studies in Paris. Even some bubbles of regret had started to surface, but I quickly repressed them. I knew that if I had taken that job I would have regretted it even more.

I was also surprised and quite happy, really. I had expected a bigger backlash from my friends about the job position, but they were being so supportive, so understanding. They were even excited at the prospect of me getting together with Sirius, though that piece still wasn't a given yet.

"Fine, I'll forget this happened until tomorrow morning," James finally relented, after many threats and glares from Lily, "But we all know what tomorrow is. So you had better get prepared that he's not going to be entirely focused."

The four of us groaned. We all knew what tomorrow was. Sirius had only been talking about it, quite loudly, for the past six years.

The lake party.

…

I woke up late the next morning, jittery and shaky in anticipation for the conversation that I inevitably needed to have with Sirius. I had tossed and turned all night, going over the words in my mind again and again and again.

I shot out of bed, grabbing the clothes I had set out the night before and locked myself in the bathroom. I took my time taking my shower and getting ready, actually doing my hair for once instead of leaving it in the messy curls that I usually stuck with.

"Come on, Haley!" I heard Alice bang on the bathroom door just as soon as I had finished putting my mascara on. "The boys are already down at the lake. And I need to pee!"

I reached over, yanking the door open, revealing Alice doing a bathroom dance on the other side of the threshold. She scooted by me, dancing into the stall before locking the door behind her.

"You look good by the way," she said after sighing in relief and flushing the toilet. "Did you put on makeup?"

I cringed, glancing at her reflection in the mirror as she washed her hands. "Too much?"

Alice shook her head, smiling slightly. "Perfect. Listen, everyone else has already gone down there. Care to walk with me?"

I nodded my head, my heart pounding in my chest as she led me out of the common room and onto the grounds. The day was perfectly sunny, the breeze fluffed my blonde curls, blowing them behind my shoulders as we took the trail down to the lake.

It was common knowledge that Sirius Black had wanted to throw a pre-NEWT exam party, but I'm sure that many people (teachers included) had believed him. A few seventh year Ravenclaw girls were sprawled out on the rocks, tickling the giant squid's tentacles as it lounged in the sun.

One of the girls kept glancing at Sirius over the rim of her round sunglasses, which only caused a sharp pain to rise quickly in my chest. I needed to get this out before Sirius had moved onto another girl. That is, if he already hadn't.

"It hasn't even been 24 hours, Haley," Alice murmured, as if reading my mind. She reached into a cooler that Remus had charmed to hold copious amounts of butterbeer and pulled out two ice-cold bottles before handing one to me. I cracked it open, but my nerves were getting the best of me and I ended up spilling half of it onto the plush lawn.

Screams of joy and laughter erupted from a ways down the lake where James and Sirius had decided to corner poor Severus Snape, who had the misfortune of deciding to study for his exams underneath a tree near the edge of the lake. Severus, who at this point had been paralyzed, was being treated to a new beach party outfit, much to the thanks of Sirius Black himself.

Bring orange swim trunks now adorned Severus's skimpy, white legs while a blue inter-tube was tightly hugging his waist. Blue flippers to match the tube were snugly fit on his feet, while his black robes were replaced with a white, thick-strapped tank top.

"Oh, that is not a pretty sight," Alice said sympathetically as a few of the seventh years roared with laughter. She paused to take a sip of her butterbeer. "And just think…that man will soon be protecting us all from escaped criminals and death eaters."

I snorted with laughter just as Sirius glanced over his shoulder, his eye catching mine. He sent me a small grin before helping James toss Severus into the lake. Severus struggled to the top, sputtering and cursing at the two Marauders.

"Oh Merlin, he's coming over here," I said anxiously, coughing up some of my butterbeer as Sirius began to make his way toward Alice and I. "What do I do? Hide me!"

Alice forced me to turn back around, shoving me toward Sirius with more force than I thought necessary. I stumbled slightly, lurching forward as I tripped over my own feet, but Sirius rushed forward and caught me before my knees hit the grass. Alice casually walked away, a smirk appearing on her lips.

My face turned bright red as I realized the lack of space between the two of us. Like always, his cologne increased my heart rate and I nearly passed out from lack of breathing as my nerves hit the roof.

"Sooo…" Sirius started, trailing off as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "How did the interview go? Did you get the position?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Alice, Mary, Lily, and James move toward us, slowly, but surely. It was clear that they were only pretending to be having a serious conversation, all the while eavesdropping on Sirius and me. I focused my attention back onto Sirius, his gray eyes staring down at me expectedly.

"Yes, it went fine," I said with a slight nod, "And I did get the position. They told me that I was their first choice."

Sirius hunched over his shoulders, clearly disappointed at the news. But he quickly straightened up and cleared his throat, forcing a tight smile (that looked more like a grimace to me) onto his face. "Congratulations, Haley. I knew you would get it. I never doubted you for a second."

I looked back up at him, squinting slightly from the bright sun. "Sirius, I didn't accept the position." My heart beat wildly as his jaw slacked, his mouth opening slightly as a stunned expression covered his features.

"What are you talking about?" He said, barely managing to complete the question. His eyes raked hungrily over my body, clearly wanting more answers.

I took a deep breath, I could feel my heartbeat in my toes, but I couldn't back down now. I would absolutely HATE myself if I didn't spit this out now. My mother always told me that I would know my opportunity to tell someone that I loved them for the first time. This was my opportunity and I refused to let that get away from me.

"Sirius," I started after blowing out my cheeks, "you said to me yesterday that you were in love with me. Well, I'm in love with you and I crazily left my dream job to come back here…to you." I paused, lowering my eyes to watch the condensation drip off the side of my butterbeer bottle. "You said you had wanted me. How about now?"

For a fleeting moment, I thought that Sirius was going to say no. He was going to say that he found someone else, that he was no longer interested. Or, even worse, that he was never interested. He only said those things as a dare. My heart beat frantically in my chest, the blood pooled in my cheeks as he took longer than expected to answer.

Luckily for me, he gave the answer I wanted.

He slowly reached forward, placing two fingers underneath my chin. He gently pushed up, forcing me to look into his dark, grey eyes. Suddenly, his face broke out into a wide smile, dazzlingly me with its full effect. He lurched forward, forcefully sweeping me off my feet. I wrapped my legs around his waist as his arms snaked around my hips. He looked up at me and kissed me full on the mouth- in front of everyone. I could hear Lily and Alice screaming loudly in excitement. I nearly broke out in a fit of laughter at the sound of James screaming like a thirteen year old girl.

"I've fallen a bit more in love with you every day, Haley Brams," he murmured into my lips, causing me to grin widely at the thought.

I could have sworn that half the girls in the seventh year had gotten their heart broken in that moment. For Sirius Black, the boy who was never going to be tamed, never going to slow down, had finally fallen in love with a girl…and that girl was me.


	35. Chapter 35

**I know, I'm the worst author ever (super sad face!), so please forgive me as I am probably going to grovel at your feet for the duration of this story! **

**I'm trying to get ahead with writing the chapters and (I'm getting better at it, hopefully!) I will be posting another chapter later this week. So look out for that!**

**Anyways, this signifies the end of the Hogwarts part of the story and now moves onto the post-Hogwarts/First War part of the story. There will definitely be more Sirius/Haley action (among other things!) so keep an eye out for updates. **

**Again, very, very, VERY sorry and I hope that I still have some readers out there! Don't forget to review on your way out!**

**Read and enjoy!**

JUNE 1978

It was finally June, which meant not only was my seventh year at Hogwarts coming to a close, but that also meant graduation was now upon us. I could not believe that my seventh year had crept up on me so quickly, as it felt like I was a lowly third year just yesterday.

Classes resumed for one final time as a quick review before the NEWT exams were schedule, but I didn't pay much attention. I figured that one series of review classes for each subject would not amount to the levels of education we had acquired throughout the years.

I spent much of the class glancing toward Sirius, swooning on the inside, before he winked at me and changed Severus's hair a brilliant shade of something. I would roll my eyes, stifling a laugh before he changed Serverus's hair back to the greasy, black normal as the professor turned around to continue the lecture.

Out of all the things that had happened this year, the one thing that surprised me the most was my relationship with Sirius. We had gone from strangers to partners in crime. From that, onto best friends. And now he was my boyfriend…

My Boyfriend.

How weird was that? Sirius Black in a real relationship. With me.

Now, I promise that I didn't turn into one of those clingy girlfriends who wanted to be with her boyfriend all the time and continually talked about how hot her boyfriend was. But really, he was pretty good looking. I only thought about once or twice…a day…times four or five.

As the bell rang, I shook my head, gathering my thoughts while I shoved my roll of blank parchment and my wand into my shoulder bag. Hitching it over my shoulder, I turned around to join Alice and Mary, who were suspiciously gathered around Sirius with a roll of parchment held out between the three of them.

As I noticed them staring, I felt a bit self-conscious, first touching my hair and then patting my face, just to make sure nothing was there. I crinkled my eyebrows, gazing at them curiously. Sirius's smirk grew, never a good sign, as he sauntered over to me. I glanced down, seeing the piece of parchment clutched tightly in his right hand.

He glanced at it again as he stopped in front of me, sighing with contentment, before holding up the parchment for me to see. I had to take a step back in order to read it, but as soon as I saw what he was looking at, my eyes widened in embarrassment.

"Oh, God, please don't make me do that," I groaned as I slumped my shoulders. Alice and Mary snickered behind their hands as they made their way toward the door. Sirius waggled his eyebrows suggestively as he turned and sighed contently at the piece of parchment he was holding.

I swear, he almost kissed it.

"It's the last one," he replied with no sympathy, rolling up the parchment and sticking it into the back pocket of his pants. "You have to do it."

I heard footsteps hurriedly walk toward me before someone clutched at my waist, taking a hold of the rim of my skirt before folding it quite a few times in rapid succession. I squealed in surprise, trying my hardest to pull down the now shortened skirt, but the damage was already done.

"I charmed it!" Alice said triumphantly, thrusting her wand into the air as if she had just won the Quidditch World Cup. "And you can't get it off until the end of the day."

My cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of pink as I tried, unsuccessfully, to lower my skirt once again. Alice was right. There was no way it was coming down.

"Thank Merlin for that," Sirius said, in faux awe. He stared for a moment too long at my bare legs, making me feel a tad uncomfortable. He seemed to have snapped out of his thoughts, but as his eyes met mine, I could feel a sort of wildness creep up behind them.

Something stirred at the pit of my stomach, which I quickly repressed. What was wrong with me?

Mary pranced over, reaching behind Sirius and snatching the parchment from his pocket. "Since you two had all the fun this year," she claimed, dipping her quill into an open inkpot on the desk next to her, "I want the chance to sign the last one." She finished signing her name forcefully, grinning up at me as I took the parchment from her outstretched hand. I stuffed it into my bag, glaring blankly at the three of them.

"Ugh, I'm going to class now," I said, rolling my eyes as I pushed past them, "I'm going to be late if I don't leave."

I heard Sirius sigh from behind me, hitching his own bag over his shoulder. "Oh, please do. I would love to watch you leave."

….

A couple days later, I sat on the stone bench just outside the courtyard. I jiggled my foot, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my parents. People were hugging their family members right and left, launching themselves into conversations filled with the war, how the NEWT exams were, and general family talk.

I glanced up at the large clock, where it rung twice, signaling that it was already two in the afternoon. I tried to scan the crowed, looking out into the sea of people to spot my brother, but he was already long gone.

Probably having a last minute shag in one of the empty classrooms before the ceremony began.

"Haley! Oh, Haley, darling!"

I perked up, a big grin emerging on my face as I saw my mother lightly pushing herself through the crowd, my father maneuvering through the small space she made. I leapt off the bench, just in time for my mum to wrap her arms around my neck, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Be mindful of your father," she said softly in my ear, drawing me closer so she could whisper, "and make sure he doesn't see Sirius."

My father had been the least supportive parent, especially when it came to Sirius. Sirius was too lighthearted, too unintelligent, too much of a joker, had probably slept with too many girls, wasn't going to make a lick of difference in my life, thank you very much. My father had warned me a time or two that if he saw Sirius at the graduation, he would make sure my boyfriend would be hanged and quartered before the ceremony even finished.

I giggled humorlessly when I got the letter, but Sirius seemed to get a big kick out of it. He even pinned it to the inside of his dress robes just for safe keeping.

"Darling, where is your brother?" my mother asked as she pulled away from me, shooting my father a glare of warning, as he was clearly scoping out the area, wondering if he would catch a glimpse of that "Black boy who ruined his daughters life."

I shrugged, refusing to voice his probable location aloud. "He may have already gotten into line." Unlikely. "I know we're supposed to be meeting just outside the Great Hall in a few minutes from now." Daniel would make sure he was there five minutes after, just to be fashionably late. "I'm sure he's already there." Only if Lily was.

My mother patted my cheek, smiling lightly at me. "I'm so proud of you honey-"

"Would be more proud if you didn't ruin your future for a-"

"Stop it, Ralph," she cut across him harshly, shooting him a look of disgust. "Not here. Haley is graduating at the top of her class. She still has made a number of contributions to the school. We should be- you should be- incredibly proud of her."

I felt a rush of affection toward my mother, whom I had never heard speak ill about or in front of my father before. He shuffled awkwardly, obviously trying to shrug off the stinging remarks that my mother sent her way.

My mother turned back to me, a small smile on her face. "He'll come around, darling. He just needs some time."

"HALEY! HALEY! We have to go!"

I spun on my heel, thanking Merlin for the greatly timed interruption that Alice placed as she turned away from her own parents and reached out to grab my wrist.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Brams!" she called over her shoulder, waving at my mum and dad with a bright smile on her lips, "We'll talk after the ceremony, we're running late!"

The two of us giggled as we pushed through the crowd, trying to make it to the empty classroom just outside the Great Hall in record time. It seemed, though, that many of my classmates had the same thought, as the halls were now jammed with late seventh years who did not want to be the one to receive the last lecture from Professor McGonagall.

Much to my surprise, Daniel had already taken his place in the commencement line, but he did look a bit disheveled. And he was eye-flirting with a girl a few rows back. I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything, as I turned to face the Great Hall once again. It was beginning to fill out, now that many of the seventh years had split from their families and were now squished into this tiny space.

I hadn't realized how many peers I had until we all had to fit into one classroom.

I also hadn't realized until that moment that Sirius hadn't arrived yet. I furrowed my brow, balancing on my tip-toes to get a better look across the packed classroom. A few rows back, Lily seemed to be doing the same thing. Our eyes met and, as if it didn't matter to her that James had gone missing, she shrugged it off, rolling her eyes with a small shake of her head.

Though, she had quite a few more months on me. She was probably used to James and Sirius disappearing at the most inconvenient times. I shook my own head, trying to glance over the heads of my classmates once more before, worriedly, turning back toward the Great Hall.

In retrospect, I should have known that the two boys would go missing just a few minutes before the ceremony was to start. Just because Sirius and I were official didn't mean that Sirius wasn't, well, Sirius. More than likely, they had taken a side trip to The Three Broomsticks to snag a bottle of Firewhiskey for after the graduation.

"Now, when you hear your name called," Professor McGonagall started, causing everyone in the vicinity to quit talking immediately. I was impressed that the woman still had that kind of power of my peers. "You will make your way up through the middle of the hall. You will shake hands with Professor Dumbledore, who will give you a diploma. Then you will find your assigned seat for the rest of the ceremony." She didn't ask for questions. She didn't ask if anyone understood.

By the way people were glancing uncertainly at each other, I almost felt like she should have.

But the ceremony started a beat later, with the name "Abernathy, Sarah" called from the front of the Great Hall. Sarah, who was a raven-haired Hufflepuff, shook as she made her way out of the classroom and into the Great Hall. Light applause filled the air.

"Adams, Michael" from Slytherin was next, followed a few moments later by "Alberts, David" from Hufflepuff.

I glanced anxiously around the hall once again, trying to scan for either of the leading Marauders, but as the names dwindled through the last of the A's, I started to get even more worried. What if they had gotten caught up with Slytherins? What if You-Know-Who showed up at the ceremony and killed them? What if-

Both Sirius and James sprinted into the classroom, laughing loudly as they took their places in line. Just in time for "Black, Sirius" to be called from the Great Hall. Sirius turned to wink at me, his cheeks slightly flushed from the run he had obviously just taken. I returned the gesture with a glare of my own, which he easily shrugged off as he sauntered into the Hall.

The applause was thunderous compared to the other students, only solidifying in my mind that Sirius was much more popular (even with the adults) than I had previously thought. I could only imagine that he was soaking up the positive attention, waving and smirking at the audience as if he has just won a prestigious award.

I silently prayed that my father kept his wand to himself and didn't turn Sirius into anything…unnatural.

"Brams, Daniel" was called next, much to my excitement, as I wasn't quite sure he would actually graduate after all. The follow-up applause was minimal in comparison to Sirius, except for my mother, who I could hear cheering from the Hall.

My body was completely jittery as "Brams, Haley" was called and as I made my way into the hall, much to my surprise, the applause was quite loud. Maybe it was because it was the first time hearing it without the protection of the classroom. Or maybe it was because Sirius was standing on his chair, clapping fanatically, cheering loudly, and everyone was following his lead.

I grinned widely at him, forgetting for the moment that I was in a room full of people. He winked at me again as I made my way down the aisle, almost tripping over my own feet as I stumbled forward to shake the hand of Professor Dumbledore.

His eyes twinkled as he handed me the thick parchment, my name printed in large, bold letters. "Congratulations, Ms. Brams," he said quietly, though I could still hear him through the calling of the next student. "You will do great things outside of this school, I'm sure of it."

I wasn't quite sure what to say, so I just bowed my head and went on my way, stumbling again on my way down the small set of stairs. Gosh, I'm such a klutz.

I collapsed into the seat next to Daniel, who was clearly trying to ignore the fact that he was smashed right in between his twin sister and her boyfriend. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest and he stared forward, pretending to pay more attention to the ceremony than he really was.

Sirius leaned back, so we could speak around the head of my brother. I followed suit, an eyebrow cocked in amusement. "And where were you?" I asked, a needed explanation heavy in my tone. He smirked at me. In the background, "Clark, Marian" from Ravenclaw was called. Sirius took out his wand and held it just at hip level, so it was hidden from view.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Sirius has already cast some sort of charm on my brother. Daniel's face contorted into a look of confusion as he picked at his ears, obviously wondering if something had made its way in there.

I threw a blank look at Sirius, who was admiring his handiwork by hissing in Daniel's ear.

"You could have just asked him to switch seats, you know," I reprimanded him, shooting a sideways glance at my brother, who was now swatting at the air, as if I horde of flies were swarming around his ears.

Sirius shrugged. "What's the fun in that? Anyways," he cleared his throat, peering at Daniel to make sure the charm was still in effect. "James and I put the map into Filch's cabinet. You know, the drawer labeled Highly Dangerous?"

I furrowed my brow, looking at him incredulously. "You almost missed the ceremony, because you had to break into Filch's office and hide your map in his cabinet of highly dangerous contraband?"

He nodded his head, as if something like this happened more often. "Well, that way only the best students would find it. If no one does, then they didn't deserve to inherit it."

I shrugged a shoulder, nodding in agreement. "I can see your logic. Good thinking." He sent me another wide grin as we turned back to the ceremony, just in time to see "Evans, Lily" get her name called.

The rest of the ceremony went by without anything surprising or exciting, except for when Mr. and Mrs. Potter jumped up and down when "Potter, James" was called from the front of the Hall. This was followed by many other students jumping up and down, laughing as James sauntered toward Professor Dumbledore, who was grinning as James grasped his hand and shook it rapidly.

As the students were dismissed, Sirius grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the back of the Hall. I slipped by my parents, determined to avoid my father confronting Sirius for the duration of our relationship, no matter how long the duration of the relationship ended up being.

As the parents filed out around us, Sirius snuck his hand to the side of my neck and planted a kiss on my lips.

"Ew, get a room, will you?" I heard James call out over the crowd as he pushed his way toward us, wrinkling his nose and shaking his head, though all the while smiling. He slapped a hand on Sirius's shoulder as he reached us, shaking him slightly. "Well, we did it," he said as soon as Peter and Remus joined us, both looking rather frazzled by the large crowd. "Ladies and gentleman-"

"There's only one lady," Remus corrected him, gesturing toward me with a grin. Sirius took the opportunity to snake his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"I was counting Sirius."

I let out a snort of laughter as Sirius playfully took a swing at James. James stepped back, adjusting the round-rimmed glasses that nearly fell off his face.

"Anyways," James continued, placing an arm around both Remus and Peter, who seemed rather surprised to be included in the conversation for once, "we are about to embark on the best years of our lives." He glanced around, making sure no teachers or parents were in the vicinity before grabbing a small flask from the inside of his dress robes. "To graduating!"

The five of us cheered before each taking a shot of the Firewhiskey that James had, in fact, smuggled in from The Three Broomsticks early that same morning.


End file.
